Human or Not?
by TrueDarkHero
Summary: Horrible story, only posted for readers to gag at Everything came crashing down around her. Her life, destroyed, her secret, not so secret. Nothing comes easy for her. Will she find what she looks for? OCEF
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note. This story is an older work, and not as good. In the least. So feel free to read it, but it has a lot of pitfalls that younger writers fall into. I later tried to patch some mistakes, but its not the best attempt. However, it IS complete so here you go

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I touched the small protrusions on my forehead. They had started growing a little over a month ago and it was getting harder to hide them. The hat just couldn't cover it anymore.

I dragged out a bandana from my drawer and tied it low on my head. It might look a little stupid, but at least it hid them from view for a little longer. I could pretend to be normal for just a bit longer.

My mother smiled at me when I came down. She gave me a hug and handed me my lunch before she ushered me to the table to eat my breakfast. My stepfather was already there, hidden behind the newspaper as always.

I refused to look at the mutant bashing headlines that decorated the front pages and concentrated on eating the toast on my plate. Mom gave me another smile before she turned to regard David with that soft look in her eye. David, upon seeing it, gave her a grin in return.

:Time to go to school.: I heard Mom say though I did not see her lips move. :You can move the bandana up a bit, they'll still be hidden.: I nodded and pulled the cloth up a bit. 'That's better.'

"Have a good say at school sweetie." Mom said aloud, mainly for the benefit of David. I preferred hearing from her telepathically, where her voice was full of love. Not to say her normal voice wasn't, but I could feel it telepathically.

"Bye Mom."

"Hey, Kid, don't forget to ask your teach about them muties!" David called out just as I closed the door. I gritted my teeth and headed for school.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Only a few people cared to comment on the bandana and they were twits anyway.

The days slipped by, one by one, it the same routine. I went to school, went to class, ate all alone, helped out in the library, went to the last block of the day, then went home, where I did my homework. After that came my favourite part of the day. David would head out, to go bowling or play poker with his friends and Mom would slip off the bandana and tell me I need not hide from her. Then we would talk or watch a movie or something along those lines. She would just take the time to spend time with me, without me having to hide who I was. She was my family, and I would do anything to protect her, even if it meant dying.

Only… I wasn't able to protect her. I couldn't protect her the one time it she needed it most. I couldn't even protect myself.

PE. Of all things I hate, I hate PE the most. I had to be careful not to let the bandana slip off and at times it was difficult, if only because some people kept trying to pull it off at least once a class. On top of that, I just generally hated doing anything to do with sports. I didn't mind runs, or stuff like that, but I just didn't see the point to hockey.

I got the puck slapshot at me a few times and luckily only one actually hit me, so I considered myself lucky at the time. It wasn't until after I changed and was weaving through the halls that things got bad.

I had just reached my locker with I felt the familiar tug on my bandana, only this one time I wasn't fast enough to prevent it from being taken off.

"Thought you were better than us?' a familiar voice taunted me. I covered my forehead and turned.

"Give it back." I shouted. Her and her friend just smiled at me and tossed it between themselves.

"Aww… what's the matter Dyke? Got something to say?" she laughed, which triggered a series of giggles from the others.

"It must be pretty bad to need to be covered up so." Another of the girls said. She reached to pull at my arm, but I moved before she could touch me.

"Here, catch." She tossed a dictionary at my, which I caught with my free hand. It wasn't until I found myself the target of a much larger, much heavier textbook that I felt the flash of fear. I caught it inches from smashing into my nose. I tossed it back to her.

"Watch it, you could've broken my nose." I snapped. They just stared at me. There was shock in their expressions and I realized with horror that I had used both hands to catch the book.

"You're a… a… a…" One started.

"A mutant!" They started screaming at the same time. I had to cover my ears because they screamed so loud.

"Help! A mutant is attacking us! Help! Help!" they started to back away, clearly panicked past the point of rational thought. People started to pour out of the classrooms. Several held bats, one even held a taser.

"Holy shit, it's a fucking mutant!" one boy said. He got punched in the arm by another.

"She was attacking us! She started threatening to kill us! You heard her shouting!" the girls were huddling together, shaking with fear, never mind that it had been reversed.

"Stupid mutant freaks! You tried to hurt my girlfriend!" I mentally started swearing when I saw the biggest jock there start going red with rage. I backed against the locker.

"No, I didn't! I was just trying to get my band-" my breath whooshed out when I felt the baseball bat connect with my stomach. I couldn't breath and I collapsed. As though collapsing to the ground was some sort of attack, the person with the taser stepped forward and jabbed it full power into my arm. I couldn't contain my scream.

Inside, I wept for my mother. Whenever I needed help, I could always turn to her for it. I did so now, as I began to get pounded over and over again boots. I felt a soothing touch to my mind before everything went black. In the darkness, I swore I could feel someone ease the pain.

When I woke up, everything was in ruins. The walls were blackened, the roof partially caved in. Lockers were flung open and whatever had been in them was either scattered across the floor or gone. The school looked like it went through hell and emerged what was before my eyes.

I struggled to sit up. My head was pounding and my chest felt like it was about to collapse, but something else drove me to my feet. I gripped the wall as I struggled to get my legs to hold my weight. When I did, I started to run as fast as I can for home.

The familiar presence of my mother, the one that was always there, no matter what, even when we weren't actively communicating, was gone. I ran as fast as I could home, knowing that somehow, something was terribly wrong.

I ran up the walk to my front door, which in my haste, I didn't notice to be already open. I dove straight into the house, dreading what I would find.

David had returned home. He held my mother against the wall, one hand holding her up by her throat, the other beating on her. Her face was already littered with bruises.

"No!" I screamed at him, ramming into his side. It caused him to drop my mother and to hurtle across the room. He shook himself as he got up, rubbing the shoulder he landed on. He turned his gaze to me.

"I married into a fucking family of muties?" He snarled. "I just find out that good for nothing whore was a fucking mutie and now I find out that the lot of you are fucking muties? That is just god damned wrong, you should all just die!" He launched himself at me, swinging his fist. It connected with my upper face and I couldn't help the gasp of pain and fell to my knees. "Just like your mother, not worth the air you breathe." I suddenly felt hot, with the rage causing my blood to boil. I swung the back of my hand at him and he stumbled back a few paces. Twin blade-like spikes sprouted from my forearm as I regained my feet. Crossing my arms, I swung them instinctively outward, and I smashed into David's rising form. I began to pound on his face, letting out the rage that coursed through me. I didn't notice the room had gone up into an unnaturally red flame.

"Get offa me you freak!" he struggled to block my fists.

"You stupid bastard don't you ever touch my mother again! You asshole!" I continued to smash my fists into his face, tearing my knuckles until they left bloody marks on his face. His movements weakened and eventually stopped, his arms falling to his side.

I realized eventually that he stopped and moved away. I coughed when I inhaled smoke from the air. I staggered over to where my mother lay, unmoved from where she had slid down the wall. I knelt by her side, grab her cool hands. The red flames seemed to have left the area around her untouched. My mother weakly opened her eyes when she felt my touch. She attempted to give me a reassuring smile, but it turned into a grimace of pain.

"Mom…" I whispered. She reached to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"My baby…" her voice was hoarse and faint. She held her hand on my cheek and I gripped it, pressing it more firmly on my cheek. "My precious baby." She coughed and I saw small specks of red on her lips. "You have to be strong now." She tried to smile again. "You're special… very special. It's… going to be hard… just for you to… live. So you need to be strong Alex, you need to be strong to survive."

"Mom." I said with my voice breaking. Tears slipped from my eyes.

"Be… strong… Alex. I… love… you…" Her mother's eyes closed and her hand went became heavy. Her whole body just went limp all at once.

"Mom! No Mom!" I screamed, pulling her body to me. I cried, rocking back and forth. I let out a sob. The flames roared higher, turning to the natural orange of regular flames. The heat forced me to get painfully to my feet. I released my mother.

"Goodbye…" I whispered to her before I ran out the back door into the wilderness of the undeveloped land. I looked back only once at the house that had once been my home, but now was my mother's grave. I felt another tear slide down my face, but when I heard the first siren, I forced myself to turn away and limp off into the woods.

Only hours later, when I collapsed to my knees, did I make a sound. The forest went silent from a moment after my anguished cry. Everything was taken from me. My world had been destroyed in a few moments.


	2. Chapter 2

:Emma.: Emma sighed at the telepathic call. She paused in her marking. :I have a mission for you and Jean. The rest are already on the blackbird. There is a mutant in lower British Columbia somewhere that I want you to find.:

:Jean can handle it Charles, I'm busy.: she replied.

:Emma, I want you on this mission.: There was a hint of command in Professor's voice. Emma leaned back in her chair.

:What's so important that I need to go:

:The person I am talking about is the daughter of someone I know. There was a fire at her home. Two bodies were found. Her mother's and her mother's husband, her stepfather. They were both murdered. The police believe that he killed the mother and she killed him. We need to find her fast, as fast as we can. I don't know if Jean will be able to find her this time.: He informed the white queen. Emma rose from her seat.

:I'm on my way.: She closed her door and headed to the elevator.

Almost two hours later, they were finally entering the area that the Professor had narrowed it down to. Scott landed the plane in a clearing. He turned to the two telepaths.

"We're going to look on foot. If you two find anything, let us know." Scott said as he descended the hatch. Logan glared at his back before following him.

"Might as well get started." Jean said. Emma simply lowered her shields enough to scan the area slowly. Jean did the same, though beginning at the opposite side.

Scott and the rest of the team came back a few hours later, with only Logan looking unscratched. Scott shook his head.

"Nothing. You find anything?" He addressed Jean. Emma rolled her eyes. She felt Jean raise her shields once again, but she pushed just a little farther.

"Same here." Jean said softly. She sighed.

"We'll try again tomorrow." He said softly. The rest nodded.

Emma felt something on the very edge of her range. It was barely there, just enough that she knew someone was there. She couldn't tell anything about it. She looked at the others. No matter how much Charles may think of Scott and Jean, Emma though to herself, there was no way they would react well to knowing the girl murdered someone.

Emma headed down the ramp.

"Where you going?" Scott called. She turned her cool gaze to him.

"To get some air." She replied. She smirked when everyone accepted that excuse. She headed into the woods in the direction of the person she sensed.

The smirk slipped from her face as she continued on. The closer she got, the more she could feel the intense pain, one that seemed to strike a resounding cord within her.

After working her way through the bushes for another hour or so, she came to a point where she could hear the soft sound. It was barely noticeable, and even Logan would have had a hard time picking it up. The only reason Emma did was because she could hear the telepathic echoes in her mind.

She knelt down next to the collapsed figure. Only the shaking showed any of the grief that girl was experiencing. Small sobs that were more like gasps stole into the air. Emma placed a hand on the young mutant's shoulder.

The new mutant jerked away, falling onto her shoulder in her surprise. She scrambled to her feet and tried to get away, but Emma grabbed her arm just above the spikes to prevent her from escaping. The girl frantically pulled to release her arm from Emma's iron grip.

"No." The hoarse word was low and rough, the tears clearly there. Emma reached for the girl telepathically. She encountered a shield, but made her way easily past it. However, she was surprised to find no thoughts behind that shield, just a consciousness. "God damn it let me go!" the girl said a bit louder, with more panic in her voice.

"I'm not here to hurt you." Emma snapped. The girl glared at her and her eyes glowed red. She jerked her arm away violently, leaping a few feet away. Her short hair seemed to become charged, because they fluttered upwards, emphasizing the girls short horns.

"You're just like them." Emma narrowed her eyes. "You are just like them! You just want to take me away, to do stuff so I won't remember what I am, so I will look normal, but at the cost of my soul. You're just like them! Get away from me!" the air around the girl took on a red tint. "Just leave me alone!" Emma felt like the girl just suddenly disappeared from existence, even though she could see her running away. She just knelt where she was, deep in thought.

"Kid's nearly wild." A deep voice said near her. She turned her head to see Logan leaning against a tree, smoking.

"I can see that." Emma said.

"I'm not joking. What I smell of her isn't normal for humans or mutants. She's been out here for a while." He gestured to the spot where the girl disappeared. "Much too distrusting even for a new mutant."

"What did you smell?" the look he gave her was closed.

"Brimstone."

"She fled at the sight of Emma. Logan refuses to try and track her." Scott gave Logan a dirty look, and in response was flipped off.

"Jean?" The Professor turned to the other telepath. She shook her red hair, sighing.

"I can't sense her. I know I checked the area that Emma found her in earlier, but I didn't sense her then." The Professor gained a sadder expression.

"How did you know her mother?" Emma said to the man. The others remained silent, waiting for an answer.

"She was the daughter of an old friend who became very ill. When she died, she charged me with caring for her daughter. Later on in life, she turned out to be a strong telepath. She knows all about the X-Men, she helped with finding Scott actually." Scott flushed at that. "But it wasn't for her. She didn't want to be a hero, so she left. She kept in touch. A few years after she left, she fell in love, got married, and had a child. But the father of the child died in an anti-mutant riot. She raised the child alone." He paused to take a breath, and Emma could see that he was trying to decide what to tell them.

"Charles, there's more to it than that. No new mutant is that paranoid." Emma snapped.

"There is more." He agreed. "When the child was young, maybe eight or nine, her mother was taken in by the government. They preformed… experiments on her, trying to break her telepathy, trying to trap her into her own mind." His eyes met Emma's. "She shared a deep telepathic bond with her child."

It took a few moments for Jean to understand, but she let out a small sound of horror. "She was connected to her child when… Oh my god." Jean leaned into Scott's shoulder, hiding her face as she tried to regain composure.

"Whatever torture they put the mother through she felt every bit of it." Emma answered the question that Scott shot her.

"They succeeded in damaging her telepathy to a point. She could no longer communicate to just anyone, she had to know them somehow and couldn't reach farther than an average telepath at best." He sighed.

"I didn't find this out until earlier this year, when she contacted me and told me her daughter was displaying mutant traits. At the time, only her horns were showing, just starting to grow in. She stressed that her daughter would not be willing to come here, but she asked me to make sure she would be safe should anything happened." His gaze never wavered from Emma's. "She remarried two years ago, to a low key supporter of the F.O.H."

:Charles, there is something you don't want the others to know isn't there.: the slight nod was all she needed.

"He was man who died in the fire with her mother. He constantly encouraged Alex to join in on anti mutant protests, not knowing that he had married into a family of mutants."

"Why'd she married'em if she knew he was such a bastard?" Logan growled softly.

"Because he loved her and she him. Love is messy that way. And that was before she knew her daughter was an obvious mutant." His phone rang. "That, combined with a very bad day at school, caused Alex to lose everything in the space of an hour. We have to reach her before anyone else does." He reached for the phone and everyone took that as their cue to leave. Only Emma stayed behind as the Professor took the call. He hung up after a few moments.

"Charles, there is something missing from this story of yours." Emma said, resting a hand on her hip. He nodded and Emma felt the shielding going up around the room.

"Her mother has known her daughter was a mutant from early in the child's life. Her eyes would glow in emotional moments. But when they stopped recently, she thought her daughter had repressed her powers."

"Charles…" Emma said with a hint of impatience.

"She caused that fire Emma. The fire that burned down her house and that partially destroyed her school was her doing. What's more is several people never came out of that school." The Professor's shoulders slumped with exhaustion. "I've been using Cerebra ever since I found out. I can't find her anywhere. I guessed when I sent you out."

"I found her though." Emma replied, her eyes narrowing.

"The bond with her mother caused her to be telepathically unique. I only ever found her if I found her mother first. But now that her mother is gone… that bond is gone. Whatever her power is, it makes her invisible to telepaths." He gave her a pointed look. "Except you."

"Why?"

"She is rather sensitive for a non telepath. Maybe she in you she saw someone who she felt safe with." He had a small smile on.

"Until she saw me." Emma ground out.

"Until she realized she wasn't alone. She's been alone for the past two weeks, running. You caught her in a moment of pain."

"What happened at her school?"

"To hide the growing horns, she wore a hat for a while. Her mother got her a medical note for it, something about a skin condition. But the horns grew too big, so she began wearing a bandana over them. She was very good at keep it on. I am concluding someone managed to take it off. She was forced out as a mutant. They began to attack her brutally. I don't know how much damage was done. The survivors say that just as she passed out, it seemed like someone else was standing over her. They couldn't see, but they felt her mother's presence." He shook his head. "I don't know what really happened, but for some reason, Alex's power somehow unleashed, erupting as red flames all around her. Only the people who actually hurt her were killed."

"She must've been with hubby when she went to her daughter's aid." Emma murmured. Charles nodded.

"I think he was just coming home when it happened."

"So she doesn't know she killed those people."

"No, I don't think so." He closed his eyes for a moment before looking at her again. "Emma, for some reason, she let you in. It may have only been briefly, but on an instinctive level, she is letting you find her. Both Jean and I can't even sense her. Find her." He didn't ask, but there was a touch of desperation in his eyes. Emma could see that the girl's mother had been like a daughter to him, had been like Jean to him.

"I will." Emma promised before she left the Professor to his own thoughts.

"Let her be safe." He prayed under his breath.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, thank you for the reviews. Sorry it took me so long to update. It seems to be a bad habit. I intend on finishing this one soon though i'm WAY far behind on posting what I have

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It was cold. It was always cold when the sun set, but right now it seemed more so than usual. The shadows that the trees cast had iced over the damp from the rain earlier.

I shivered and tried to warm up. It was at times like these I wished I had a power. Something to do with fire would've been nice. Then I could've just lit a branch on fire and warmed up that way.

I breathed on my hands, letting the warm of my breath settle into my fingers. I shook with the cold still, but I could feel the exhaustion pull at me again and my mind wandered helplessly, trying to find someone who wasn't there anymore.

I fell into an uneasy sleep. I never rested properly, but now I was haunted by dreams and more commonly nightmares. I shifted in my sleep, trying to shake the demons that chased me.

_"Stupid freak! You don't deserve the air you breathe!" David's hands were ice against my skin as he tightened his vice like grip. "Even by the standards of mutants, you're a freak! No one could ever love you!" My mother was standing a few feet away. _

_"Mom!" I tried to say, but it came out weak because of the lack of air. One hand tried to pry his grip away from me while the other reached for her. "Help… me…" She shook her head, causing her long hair to fall in front of her. _

_"You must be strong now Alex. I found someone, so I don't have to love you." She stated, coming forward to lean her head on David's shoulder. She smiled at him in that tender way. _

_I shook my head in disbelief. I reached for her telepathically and she was gone from my mind. I struggled to reach for her, but I couldn't reach pass the bounds of my own mind. _

_"Mom!" Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer my vision started to fade._

_David twisted into something else, merging with my mother. He laughed, the sound booming into the darkness that seemed to go on forever._

_"Listen... there is no one to call to, no one here to save you. You're on your own kiddo. You have to save yourself." He changed his voice to imitate my mom. "You have to be strong now!" he let out another laugh. _

_"Go to hell!" I growled at him. He smiled and raised one of his other arms. He had four somehow, all of them the size of my thigh. He held me by the throat effortlessly with one. He dropped me as he gestured to the expanse. It seemed to light up as he swept by. _

_"Little lady, you're IN hell!" he laughed again as the area was lit up by the lava and the rock warmed beneath my fingertips. I was on a plateau, high above the normal levels. Demons, monsters and the damned milled about on those levels, most seemingly focused on my. "You're damned to be here with us. You killed someone and loved every moment of it." I shook my head as I tried to get away from him. He looked like someone I had seen before. _

_"Do you see something you like? I could've sworn you wouldn't like me like that!" he wiggled his eyes suggestively before he gave me a mocking smile. "Do I look familiar?" he stepped forward. "Well, I guess you would have to. Takes a killer to know one!"_

_"No! I am nothing like you!" I shouted at him._

_"Take a look sweetie, I AM you." I screamed when his face came out of the shadows, identical to my own, except male. I closed my eyes to cry._

_When I opened them, I wasn't in hell anymore. Everything was white, almost like when me and Mom would accidentally slip into each others dreams. _

_I saw my mom. She was so far away, I could barely see her._

_"Mom!" I shouted to her. I ran towards her, determined to join her. _

_:You have to be strong Alex. I love you.: She began to get farther and farther away, even though I ran as fast as I could. Soon she was gone. _

_"No Mom!" I shouted, slowing. I reached towards her, as though I could grab her from the horizon. :Mom: I tried to shout, but it just echoed back at me. She was truly gone. I couldn't feel her anymore. "Mom!" I screamed, but she didn't answer. I sobbed, I felt the tears slip from my eyes. "I'm all alone."_

_I jerked to the side when I suddenly saw someone appear._

_"I'm not here to hurt you." She snapped. She turned to face me, her expression cold. "I'm not them. I wouldn't be here if I was." Her words were cold and hinted at tightly reined power. _

_"You have to be… why else would you be looking for me?" I said as I slowly backed away. Part of me just wanted to believe her and run forward to get a hug from the woman, but the part of me that had forced me to run, the part that held my common sense, wanted me to run as fast as I could the other way._

_"Because your mother was connected to some powerful mutants and asked them to take care for you if something happened." She replied. I stopped moving. _

_"You don't care that I'm…" I reached up to touch the horns. They seemed to be growing a bit faster now and were nearly an inch and a half long. "A mutant?" _

_For a moment it seemed like she wasn't about to reply, but the small upward turning of her lips made her seem softer, more friendly. It was almost invisible, but I was used to the invisible signals. Mom used them all the time._

_"I'm one too." She said. :I'm a telepath.: Her lips didn't move. :I won't hurt you.:_

_"I..." I was shaking. I really wanted to trust her, to let her in, but… I couldn't. I started to shake my head, trying to shake off the pounding that formed there. "I can't, it hurts too much!" Pain began to crawl down my spine. "No, it hurts too much! Just leave me alone! No!" I screamed and fell backward._

And jerked forward, almost unable to breath. I looked around the familiar trees and leaned back, trying to make the pain abate. The stars were still shining and the moon was high above me.

I began to shake and I only let one strangled sob escape, though the tears flowed undeniable.

----

Emma jerked awake, her eyes scanning the room around her. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and went to the window, pressing one hand against the cool glass.

Her nightmares still woke her regularly, but for once, that wasn't what woke her from her sleep. No, this time it was a dream that felt far too real for her comfort.

The scream that the girl had released had flooded Emma's shields and swamped them, forcing Emma to feel her pain. She had jolted away from that pain. Moments later she woke up.

Even now she could feel the residue pain on her chest. It felt like her ribs were cracked and bruised, just an echo of it, but that was what it felt like. She let out a shaky sigh.

It hadn't just been a dream. Somehow, Emma had been drawn into the girl's dream and had, in fact, been in the girl's mind.

"I will find you. I won't let you be in pain alone." Emma whispered against the glass. When she withdrew her hand, she already was resolved to find her on her own. Something told her that anyone else would drive her away forever.

Hours later, she was landing the blackbird in a clearing near where she had seen the girl. She stepped onto the grass and dropped her shields.

Everything was oddly silent. There was nothing within easy reach of her telepathy. And what was odder was that there was no sound in the forest. Everything was silent. There were no birds chirping, there wasn't even the chattering of a squirrel.

Emma pushed outward on her telepathy and when she still sensed nothing she growled under her breath.

"Damn it, I'm not about to hurt you, why can't I find you?" At last there was a faint echo within her mind. "I won't hurt you, I promise." Slowly, she felt someone not too far away, not much, very, very faint, but enough for Emma to start walking towards the trees.

She found the girl curled up against a tree near a shallow stream. Her eyes were closed and she was shivering. Every so often she would shift in her sleep, letting out a small sound of pain. She curled tighter into a fetal position after a few moments.

Emma crouched down and reached to place a hand on the girl's shoulder, but hesitated when there seemed to be a flare of red. It receded after a few moments. She shock off her unease and touched her shoulder.

Unlike last time, where the girl reacted immediately, she only jerked awake. Her eyes flew open and she cowered against the tree, trembling violently. Her eyes glowed a violent red.

Emma reached to rest her hand on the girl's shoulder, making sure the girl saw what she was doing. There was a flinch but she didn't move away when she was touched. In fact, she seemed to cower a bit more into the tree.

"Hey, I'm not about to hurt you." Emma said, trying her best to reassure the girl. The ruby eyes stared at her for a few moments before she looked around. Her eyes changed and returned to normal. She shivered.

"You're… back…" she whispered. She coughed and Emma was worried to see that she had problems regaining her breath. "You're… a… tele…path… like… Mom." She tried to smile, but failed, turning it into a coughing fit. "She said… I had… to be… strong… I have… to…" She didn't finish what she was about to say. She closed her eyes. "You… aren't… them?" Her voice was rough.

"No, I'm not. I promise I'll never hurt you. I'll protect you." Emma tucked a strand of hair behind the girl's ear.

"I'm glad… you came… back." She whispered after a few moments. "I was… afraid… you'd… be scared… by the dream. Thank… you."

Emma just gave the girl a tiny smile. "Come on, let's get you help." She picked up the girl without too much difficulty and began to make her way to the blackbird.

"I… trust… you." The girl whispered into Emma's ear. There was something in the way she said it that made it special. Emma doubted that she said it often. Something in Emma stirred.

She made her way back to the blackbird carefully, her charge light in her arms, weighing next to nothing. She carefully strapped the girl into a chair and set course back to the school.

She flicked on the communication stations, which immediately gave her the sound of Scott's voice.

"… Your ass back here!" She smirked at his tone. When he started to yell, however, she glanced back at the limp body in the seat near her. She was still unconscious.

"Scott, please lower your voice. I found her. She's hurt and right now asleep. I would prefer to keep it that way." She flicked the switch back to receiving.

"Sorry. How is she?" he replied.

"Not well. Is Charles nearby?"

"I'm here Emma." His voice seemed a bit tired, but there was no trace of condensation.

"I think that she might be a dream walker." There was a surprised sound and Emma smirked at Jean's reaction.

"Are you sure?" that came from Scott.

"Considering she drew me into her dream and she remembers talking to me, I'm pretty damned sure." She snapped. Her patience with Scott lately wasn't the best, probably because of his attitude concerning anything to do with her.

"We'll look into it, later. How far are you?" Charles asked.

"I'll be back in about two hours." Emma looked over her shoulder at the girl. She was tossing her head back and forth. "Out." She flicked the communications off set the plane to autopilot.

She stood and went to the seat next to the other. She watched her for a few moments, tossing and turning, before she sighed. She lowered her shields and reached for the troubled mind, hoping to soothe it into a more peaceful sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Give it back!" I yelled, leaping into the air in an attempt to catch whatever it was that flew over my head. I heard shrill laughter. The girl who caught it laughed, tossing her perfectly styled hair over her shoulder._

_"Come on Dyke, why would you want this? It's useless to you." She tossed it to another. _

_"Just give it to me!" I shouted. It was tossed to a jock._

_"I don't get you sick fucks. Not only are you a fucking queer, you're a mutie. Hey that makes you a queer mutie! That's funny!"_

_I don't know why I was trying so hard to catch whatever it was, but all I knew was I had to get it. _

_"Just give it to me!" I said to him. He tossed it onward._

_"Nah, it's useless." It landed in the garbage. I followed it, horrified. Suddenly someone lifted my legs upward and I plunged into the darkness. I fell._

_I heard that ringing laugh again and I could see the formations of the lava flows. But just as the demon was about to step out of the shadows, a hand swept through everything, destroying the dream. My eyes shot up to the owner of the hand. It was the woman again. _

_"Troubled dreams?" she said, quirking her eyebrow. I just nodded. The world became the white of before. She looked around. "Any chance of something else to look at?" she directed her question to me. At random, I pulled out my bedroom from a memory. It wasn't the tidiest, but I knew it well. I climbed onto the bed. _

_"I'm Alex." I said, wiping my hand on my pant leg before holding it out to shake._

_"Emma Frost." She replied. Her grip was firm._

_"What are you doing here again?" I said. Her lips quirked. _

_"You weren't sleeping well, so I thought I would try to calm your mind. You wouldn't be calmed, so I decided to try to just dispel the dream." Emma said. Her eyes found mine. "Are you alright?"_

_"No. Everything… is gone. Even my health." I gave her a half smile. "You don't have to be in here anymore, I understand." She gave me a look. "Stop looking at me like that. I get that people, even telepaths, don't like their dreams being invaded. So just… go away."_

_"I came here of my own free will. I am awake. This is your dream, not mine, and I'm invading your dream, not the other way around." Emma narrowed her eyes at me, like she was trying to read me. Mom had done that sometimes, but she would smile a moment later and just shrug._

_"Thank you." I whispered. That drew her attention to me directly._

_"For what?" She asked. Her voice was still cool._

_I smiled. "Cause you came and you care." And then everything just hazed out into blackness._

I opened my eyes sometime later. I was upright, sitting in a chair, a comfortable chair and in what felt like a plane. I looked around, taking in the odd design and finally my gaze rested on the woman who was at the controls.

I wasn't surprised to see that she knew how to fly this thing. It seemed like this woman could do anything her mind set to doing. I shifted, trying to ease the ache in my ribs. Breathing still hurt, but at least the straps prevented me from shifting too much in my sleep.

I didn't feel the need to alert her to me being awake so I just watched her. She was calm and collected, but there was something in the way she sat that made me wonder what had happened to her in the past. She was much too confident, much too… aloof. It was a feeling I could relate to. It didn't seem like the kind that developed naturally, it seemed like something that had been forced on her.

"Emma." I heard a guy say. I jumped a little, but realized when the woman reached forward to flick a switch that it came from the communication system.

"What Scott?" She sounded irritated.

"How far are you?" He asked. I wanted to laugh at the poor guy. It was obvious that Emma, had she been in the room with him, would've smacked him or something.

"When I say half hour, I mean half hour Scott!" She flicked another switch and a light on the control station died.

"Where are we going?" I asked. She glanced over her shoulder at me. Her irritation had disappeared when she replied.

"We are going to Xavier's School for the Gifted." She gave me a small smile to reassure me.

"They won't care that I'm a mutant?" I couldn't help it, I had to ask. I saw her amusement.

"It's for mutants, though most of the public don't know that." She said. She returned her gaze back to the skies, but I could tell she was listening.

"Are they… not as prejudice as the rest of the world?" I started to choke on the question, but I needed to ask. She gave me a quick glance.

"I like to think so. Some are very open, others are a bit more close minded, but overall, yes, its more open minded."

"Maybe it won't be the same…" I whispered, before I closed my eyes. I didn't want to open them and I fell back asleep within a few minutes.

* * *

Emma felt her mind slip into slumber. She couldn't help but watch her as she slept. Normally when she brought children to school, they were more worried about being an obvious mutant or about how others would react to their powers. She couldn't remember anyone ever having this particular conversation.

Emma paused to consider the matter. Alex was older than they normally took in. Her mutant DNA seemed to have developed later than normal. It wasn't unheard of, but it happened sometimes. Just not that often. She would be one of the oldest students to come to the school.

But somehow she doubted that was it either. There was something in those eyes, lurking in those grey depths. Emma sighed. She had no way of finding out, because she couldn't just randomly read her. She had tried and there hadn't even been a flicker of awareness that she could detect. If she couldn't see that the girl was alive and breathing, she would have thought she was dead.

Whatever the reason for her questions, they would have to be found out the old fashioned way, by asking her. In the mean time, Emma turned and watched as the school came into view. The basketball court split open and she gently landed the plane. The court closed up above her.

"Emma!" she heard someone roar. She smirked with amusement at the tone in Scott's voice. She opened the hatch a few moments later and stepped downward. She wasn't surprised to see that Jean, Logan and Charles were with Scott as well.

"If you are about to start going on solo missions, warn people that your about to take the blackbird! What if Magneto had attacked? We would have been virtually immobilized." He yelled. He had immediately stepped into Emma's personal space and started yelling. Emma kept her face cool and neutral, feeling her gaze grow cooler by the second.

"Scott! Enough! Emma has my permission in this matter." Charles came forward and looked up at Scott. "I would rather her go on solo missions than to leave young mutants out there, alone, without any help."

Scott took a breath and backed off, glaring at Emma. Didn't look like he was very pleased with the Professor stepping in. She just returned he glare and crossed her arms.

"Holy fuck!" She heard Logan swear. His voice came from within the hatch and she cursed mentally for not paying close attention to what the others were doing. She immediately turned and went back up the ramp.

Alex was awake. In this case, Emma wished that the girl was still asleep, for curled around her were red flames, completely sealing her off from approach by anyone. They flicked towards Logan a few times, warning him away from their charge.

"Logan what did you do!" Emma snapped. He glared her up.

"She was asleep and I figured she would want to go to the med lab, so I woke her up. I would've carried her there, but I wanted to make she sure was alright with me carrying her." Logan replied, backing away from the flames. When he moved past Emma, they seemed to calm a bit.

"She's a dreamwalker and apparently a pyro. You woke her up from the middle of a dream and she's been having nightmares. It wasn't the wisest thing to have done." she sent to him. She stepped closer to the flames and though they flicked a warning in her direction, they didn't actively try to drive her away. Emma reached mentally for the girl and was surprised to sense her. Alex. there was no acknowledgement in her eyes. Alex, it's alright, you're safe here.

She heard a voice in her head, almost as if it was responding to the call. Only, it wasn't Alex. This is your saviour? Hell help me, she won't be able to keep you from me. Soon, you'll be just like me. We are the same, you and I. She can't change that. You will be like me. It's only a matter of time. The voice laughed.

I am NOT like you! Go away! That was Alex's voice. Go back to Hell, where you belong!

I will, but you'll eventually join me. the voice fell silent after that. Emma waited for a few moments before she called again.

Alex? This time, Alex's eyes lost most of the fear in her eyes and focused on her. The flames wavered a moment. Drop the flames, we can't help you with them there.

Alex gave the flames a startled look and they just vanished, like they hadn't been there at all. There were no scorch marks, not even a trace of smoke.

Alex closed her eyes for a moment, but when she looked at Emma, her eyes were a fiery red, which seemed to mist for a moment. But a few heartbeats later, it was gone and she was looking into those grey eyes.

I'm sorry. was all Alex said before her mind faded away and the mental link carefully severed. Emma heard just before she stopped sensing the girl entirely, a few simple words filled with remorse. I'm so sorry.

"Come on, let's get you to the med lab." Emma said, unbuckling the straps and lifting Alex into her arms. Alex simply leaned her head against Emma's shoulder and was content just to allow her to do so.

"Here, I'll take her for you." Logan volunteered. He reached over to take Alex from Emma when a red mist suddenly enveloped the two of them. He jerked his hand back, shaking it quickly. "Shit that burns!"

Emma looked down on Alex's face and saw almost sheer terror in her eyes. She tightened her grip, trying to reassure the girl.

"Alex, he's not about to harm you. He isn't one of them." She said softly. Alex shook her head.

"I know. I… don't know him. I can't… it hurts!" Alex was suddenly tense and she threw back her head, gritting her teeth.

"Alex, it's alright, you're safe here. I'll protect you." Emma soothed. She had seen this kind of thing happen with empaths before, but it didn't seem like Alex was an empath. "Just let it go and slip into the dreams." She whispered. Alex closed her eyes and soon the tension left her body. The mist, however, remained. It lost most of it's colour but it remained, tinting the air red.

Emma went down the ramp carefully, mindful of the person curled in her arms. The others were still waiting for them.

"How is she?" Charles said softly. Emma shook her head.

"Hurting." Emma said shortly. She headed towards the exit of the hanger.

"Here, I'll take her." Scott commanded, quickly reaching out to take Alex from her arms.

"No, Scott don't!" she snapped sharply, but his arm touched Alex.

Her eyes shot open and the red mist turned into an inferno. Flames licked the air around Alex, shielding her from Scott. When the flames fully covered Alex, they turned to Scott, roaring at him. He jumped back, startled. One flame slapped against his shirt and he darted farther away, a line of black where it had touched.

Emma remained unharmed by the flames. Not only did they surround Alex, but apparently by extension, they surrounded her, touching her, but allowing her to remain unharmed. The flames danced around them for a few moments more before fading back to the mist.

I am not you. Emma heard Alex whisper before she closed her eyes. This time, she went limp, exhaustion in every line of her form. Emma hefted the girl slightly higher and continued to the exit.

"I just don't understand Professor. Why won't she let anyone else carry her?" Emma heard Scott ask.

"She's a dreamwalker Scott. She won't trust you until she meets you there. And right now, the only thing that keeps her powers in check is her trust in Emma." Emma moved out of hearing range.

She pushed the door to the med lab open, glad to see that Henry was already there, giving a student what looked like a physical. He looked up when Emma came in. He made no move to approach. He learned from her habit of bringing in telepaths and empaths not to approach until she gave him the okay.

He quickly wrapped up the exam and sent the student on his way. Bobby met him on the elevator and took him back up to the public section of the school. He turned his attention to her. "Emma, I recall telling you not to exhaust the students in their classes." Emma shook her head at him.

"Found her up north. We aren't sure what happened, but she's hurting." She eased Alex onto the bed. "I'm going to have to telepathically link you to her dream. Her power flares whenever she is touched by anyone but me. The Professor mentioned it's because of her dreamwalker abilities."

Henry nodded and Emma quietly lowered her barrier and slipped into Alex's dream with Henry in tow.

_"You seem to like coming into my dreams Emma." Henry smiled. He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard someone talk to Emma that familiarly. "And now you're bringing friends. You planning for me to hold a party or something?"_

_Emma smiled, and shook her head. _

_"Alex, this is Henry McCoy. He's our resident doctor. Henry, this is Alex." Henry extended a hand to shake. _

_"Pleased to meet you." Alex seemed to examine him intently. After a few moments, she smiled and shook his hand. _

_"As long as you don't make a habit of visiting my dreams, I think I can like you." There was humour in her voice. "I really don't feel like dreaming about DNA structures."_

_"You seem to be doing better." Emma commented. Alex turned her gaze to her. The surroundings shifted from a messy bedroom to a living room. She relaxed into a couch. _

_"Daydreams do that. They're fun. I get to be the hero." She yawned. "I know, I'm technically asleep, but still, feels more like a daydream."_

_"Alex, would you mind if Henry treated you?" Henry glanced back and forth between the two. Alex didn't seem concerned about anything at all. _

_Or at least until Emma had asked that. Alex openly winced at the question._

_"I don't want to think about it." Her eyes stared at Henry. "Try not to press my ribs too much, it transfers to here rather easily."_

Emma felt both her and Henry being pushed out of her mind. Emma turned to Henry and nodded. "You can treat her now."

"Why the formality?" He asked, quickly washing his hands.

"The mist that hangs around her has been turning to flame whenever someone tries to touch her." Emma stated. She watched as he removed the destroyed shirt and proceeded to gently probe the ribs. Emma felt a flood of cold rage at the sight of the discoloured torso. It was obvious that those were inflicted bruises. Alex let out a sharp gasp of pain when he probed a bit too hard. Emma felt someone brush her shields and she dropped them. Mentally, she felt Alex come to her, clinging to her mentally as Henry probed her ribs. Her grip on Emma's mind increased a few times. When Henry finished the examination, Alex released her mind and calmed again.

"I think she has one broken, three fractured, and one bruised rib. I'll have to bind it tight so that they'll knit properly. The intense bruising will go away with time and a lot of peace and quiet. It seems like they haven't healed at all." Henry checked both eyes then carefully examined her skull. He quickly took her temperature and then took her heart rate. Something on her arm caused him to pause and take a closer look.

"Damn it." He swore softly. Henry wasn't one to swear and the admission now made Emma's shields instinctively rise.

"What?" he gestured her over to his side. On her arm were two small circular burn marks.

"See these? Taser burns. And from the intensity of the burns, I'm pretty sure it wasn't just a light tap. Someone wanted to hurt her, not subdue her. I'm surprised she was able to get up after."

Emma clenched her fist at her side. Her rage felt like it would blast apart even the strongest shields. "Emma, relax. You can't help her if you can't think properly." She sighed and did her best to unclench her fist.

"Support her for a moment while I bind her chest." He said as he carefully and precisely spread a salve over her breasts and abdomen. Emma held the unconscious girl while he efficiently wound the bandage around her chest. He tied it firmly into place.

"It should be able to come off in a few weeks, if she doesn't do anything stressful. She'll need to change it later and tomorrow." He grabbed one of the uniform grey shirts he kept for when clothing removed wasn't in the best condition and handed it to Emma. Something again caught his eye on Alex's arm. He held it up to get a better look and probed what looked like the base of a bump. He dropped her arm in shock when a long sharp spike shot out. It reached about two inches past Alex's fingertips and was about an inch and a half thick at the base and narrowed to an unbelievably thin point.

"Oh my god." He whispered. He lifted the arm again to examine the spike. Thin lines of red went through the light ivory of the spike and all gathered to the tip. He traced the outside edge carefully. "Incredible. A natural version of Logan's claws. I didn't think I'd ever get to see ones like these." He was examining the tip when it sheathed itself within her skin.

"She seems to have a lot o f mutated DNA. I doubt that we know everything yet." He took a sample of her blood before helping Emma to pull the sweater over her head. Alex only let out one small groan of pain.

"She'll need lots of sleep, so get her assigned to a room as soon as possible Emma. I don't want to keep her here, I doubt she would take it well if she woke up here." Henry said. "Need help carrying her?"

"No, I should be fine." Alex's eyes fluttered open.

"I can walk you know." Alex said softly to the room. Henry gave her a soft smile.

"It would be better for your ribs if you don't walk. Let Emma or me carry you so you don't put strain on them." Henry said.

"I don't want to bother Emma." Alex gave him an apologetic look. "Nothing against you personally."

"No worries. I honestly don't mind." He smiled. "Go on, shoo, I have other things I need to do." Emma carefully picked up the girl and headed to the elevator. "Let me know what room she stays in alright?" He shouted. Emma only nodded.

"Sorry about all this." Alex whispered. "I don't mean to be a hassle."

"Stop. I want to do this. You don't eat enough, you're pretty light." Emma replied as the elevator went up.

"Thanks." Alex rested her head on Emma's shoulder. Her eyes slowly closed once again and she smiled in her sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

I opened my eyes to the ceiling I had come to know in the past week or so. Due to my injuries and age, the Professor had decided to make an exception and give me a single dorm. It was small, but at the same time it was larger than I was used to. It had a single bed, a dresser, a desk and a bookcase. In front of the desk was a computer chair. On one wall was a fair sized closet. It was all pretty empty, except the plain clothes that Henry had gotten me.

My torso was hurting like a bitch, but at least it was healing fairly quickly. Henry told me that in another two weeks, my ribs would be strong enough to not need the brace.

Today was the day I was to start going back to class. I had a pretty full day and I had an appointment with Henry to go over what he could tell was my mutations, aside from the glowing and the spikes and the horns. I sighed as I looked out the window to watch the other students. Some were kind of obvious, like the one girl with violently pink hair and a pink skin, but others looked like the kids I had grown up with, just everyday people with gifts.

I shoved some paper and some pens into a bag. The office supplies had already been in my room when I got here. I shrugged the bag over my shoulder and took a deep breath in. Bracing myself to facing the people, I left my room and headed for my first class.

It was with someone named Jean Summers. I overheard that she was married to Scott Summers, the shop teacher. She taught English and some other minor courses. I was in her English class.

I found her room just as the second bell rang and I slipped into the room, sitting at the very back. I caught a few curious looks shot my way, but I ignored them, just trying to shrink into my seat.

However, Jean paused at the end of roll call and her eyes searched the room. They rested on me. She smiled and I could almost see her about to introduce me. "Everyone, I would like you to meet Alex SaDiablo. She arrived a few days ago. Please help to make this feel like home." I saw her lose her intense gaze and she had the same look Emma did when she had been trying to read me. She lost it quickly and smiled. "You know how hard it was to leave your families, so try to help her adjust to our way of doing things." She took out a book and so did everyone else. I looked awkwardly around and when I didn't see any obvious spare books, I raised my hand.

"Mrs Summers…" I began and she waved her hand. A book levitated near her hand and shot out to me. "Thank you." It was the new collection of modern poetry by some guy I'd never heard of. I flipped to the page they were working on and took down notes on what everyone spoke about.

I noticed over the course of the class people shot me looks and I wanted to cry. I didn't, but they were the same looks I had first gotten from my last school and they ended up hating me without knowing I was a mutant.

I was surprised when Mrs Summers herself dismissed us, rather than a bell like all the other schools seemed to do. Most of the people shot out the door immediately and a few stayed to ask questions. I remained seated so I could finish the line of thought I had.

A shadow appeared over my paper and I looked up into Mrs Summers friendly eyes. She smiled and waited until the class emptied before she spoke.

"How you holding up?" She asked. I stared her straight in the eyes and opened my mouth to reply what I always said.

"Good." It was a blatant lie, but I had lots of practice with it. No one but a telepath could tell it was a lie and apparently being what they called a dreamwalker had forced me to create rather unique shielding, so the telepaths weren't able to find my mind.

"Any problems?" she asked. She reminded me of Mom when we had just moved to Canada.

"No, no problems." Yet. It was just a matter of time before it would start. I hadn't let on to Mom that they had picked on me, I wasn't about to start now. Not that they were yet, but it would come. It always did.

She frowned and looked me over, examining my face for any trace of a lie. Finally she sighed and a small smile lit up her face. It was rather pretty. "You'd better get to your next class, you don't want to be late to Emma's class." I shrugged. I doubted it would be too bad. There wasn't anything they could take from me and I didn't mind extra work.

Emma's room wasn't far from Jean's room. I slipped in quietly and took a seat near the window. There was a set of quintuplets, all blonde haired girls, a lanky guy who leaned back in his seat, a short guy with glasses reading a book, and a girl with brown hair idly tapping on the desk. There looked like one, maybe two other students would join us, if the gaps in the seating said anything.

"Here I am! No need to be bored people! Here I am to entertain you!" I swore softly under my breath. A class clown and he proved it by juggling three fruit the other students tossed him. Suddenly everyone straightened and the clown sat down, tucking the fruit into his bag. Everything was quiet when Emma strode through the door. She gave a firm look to the room.

"I recall telling the class that there was to be no more juggling before I arrive." She stated. The clown blushed.

"Sorry Ms. Frost, it won't happen again." He mumbled. She stared at him and nodded. She didn't bother with roll call. The class was silent and so was she, but there was an air to the room that made it seem like a conversation or a lesson was going on. When I couldn't hear anything after another few minutes, I raised my hand. It drew Emma's gaze to me.

It looked like she had said something but I still couldn't pick it up.

"I can't hear any of you." I muttered. The girls in the class giggled and one of the guys tried his best not to snort, but didn't quite succeed. I lowered my hand and crossed my arms defensively.

Emma let her eyes roam the room until everyone was silent again. When she spoke, she spoke aloud.

"This class is for telepathy, all kinds of telepathy. Any disregard for other students' shortcomings will not be tolerated." Emma turned her eyes to me. "Your kind of telepathy isn't that common. I apologize for forgetting its limitations."

One of the quints raised her hand and glanced at me. "What is her power?" Emma shot me an inquiring look and I shrugged. I didn't care if they knew.

"She is something called a dreamwalker. It's a very rare form of telepathy. Has anyone heard of it before?" the guy with the glasses raised his hand.

"It's when the person can invite people into their dreams." He said.

"No, it isn't. Usually the dreamwalker can't get the person's permission to do anything, so it's more like just dragging them in. Not only can they bring other people into their dreams, they can slip into others dreams. They can control any dream, regardless if it's their own or not. They can even control daydreams." Emma corrected.

"Why can't she hear us?" the clown said. I sighed. I really wish I knew their names.

"Because of the nature of her ability, she developed a unique shielding which blocks out any form of telepathic communication. Developing this shield was because if she had accidentally brushed against another's dream, she would immediately have been drawn into it. To counteract that problem, dreamwalkers all develop this shielding, although to date, there have only been three recorded dreamwalkers." Emma explained.

"That's not why." I muttered under my breath. I got several surprised and horrified looks from the rest of the class from openly contradicting Emma.

"No?" Emma said. She leaned back onto the edge of her desk and gave me a look I didn't recognise. "Explain it."

"When you're in a dream and you know it, if you have enough control, you can change it. But when you don't, it's like you're in a whole different world. Everyone has their own world, personal to them. Some create a world in which the bad guys always lose, some create worlds in which people admire them and want to be them. Some of the more outcast people dream of being loved totally, without reservation, without the person leaving them in the end." I glared at the room. "Everyone has their world. Most don't know about it. I've never met anyone who has. When your subconscious mind forces you to process stress or problems, it is usually in some form, in that world."

"Get to the point, Horns." This quint looked like she was nastier then the rest. Emma gave her a look and from the look of it, was scolding her telepathically.

"A dreamwalker doesn't have a normal world. They manipulate their dreams into what they want. We barely have a subconscious. The barrier is there so we remain sane and so the people around us aren't forced to dream what we dream. We are hidden, so your minds don't reach out to ours. You might not think that's a big deal, but in your dreams, not all you see is what you want to see, so you reach out for help. When we slip into a dream, we fall into something like sleep. If my shields weren't there, I could be walking down a street and suddenly black out. My body would be left to the mercies of whoever is around while I try to withdraw from the dreamer's grasp. Or worse, I could be drawn from dreamer to dreamer, unable to return because when I manage to get away from one dreamer, another dreamer grabs me. I would be in a coma permanently, unable to die, yet unable to live. I would rather not hear you if it meant that I kept my sanity and my life."

"That's rather complex." Emma stated. I glared at her. I figured she would at least understand. She was supposed to be able to understand.

"You tell that to an eight year old as she convulses from the pain of her mother's dream, unable to leave because her mother needs her so much, unable to understand why her dreams were so tortured. You tell that to an eight year old whose mother was taken by the god damned government for testing. Tell the eight year old that her world is rather complex, that her split reality is rather complex. Tell that child that its just rather complex when she finds herself unable to wake from her mother's dreams, dreams her mother never knew she had, but she experienced every single moment and remember with shocking clarity. Tell that to an eight year old who wakes up with black eyes and cuts all over her body. Tell me when you do, I honestly think they would understand that their world is rather complex." I shouted. I shoved my chair back and grabbed my bag, shoving the paper back in. I headed for the door and the lanky guy blocked me.

"Hold up a sec. You can't just storm out of here after that little rampage." He grabbed my arm to prevent me from leaving.

"Don't fucking touch me!" I snarled at him. Everything went red and it seemed like the world was on fire. "Just leave me alone!" I broke his grip on my arm and pushed the door open.

"Alex, wait!" Emma commanded me. I looked over my shoulder and for a brief second, I smiled.

"You were different. You were supposed to understand. But you didn't even try. I shouldn't have come here, it's exactly the same." I fled down the hall and out into the sunshine. I didn't want to admit it, but I could feel my eyes brimming. I ran as far as I could, into the less tamed area of the school. Only when I smacked into a tree that stood alone did I stop.

It was just the same. The counsellors tried their best to understand me, but they never did, not without knowing what I was. They thought I was schizophrenic, with the talk of different worlds. So I just stopped seeing them. Mom never knew I had been in her dreams too. She had never thought to ask. She tried to fix her mistake, but it was already done.

I still had a scar from one of the dreams. It wasn't where anyone would ever see, it was along my inner thigh, the result of a less than lucky hit from a demon in Mom's head. It had been hard to walk for a month after.

The red was still there, but the world of flames was gone. I wondered what it was before I forced it out of my mind.

I was tired of everything being the same everywhere. So tired of it all. Tired of the pain and the hurt. I didn't want to hurt anymore.

The air seemed to cool around me as I thought of something. To be hurt, you had to be touchable. You had to have friends or try to have friends. You had to want to be with humanity.

"Ice. I don't have to be hurt. I don't have to like anyone. They won't like me, so why try? Alone is better than pain." I whispered to myself. I didn't notice that the tears in my eyes. The mist around me faded as I cried. "I won't be hurt anymore, I won't let them hurt me anymore." I leaned my head against the tree, remembering the first time I'd met Emma in a dream. "I thought you'd understand Emma, I really did. You weren't scared, you didn't even mind. I wish you would… I wish you cared here like you did there." And I let my head fall onto my knees and I cried harder, for the last time.

* * *

"Oh, good you're here. Right on time." Henry was standing by the elevator to the basement. He stepped inside and held to door open. He keyed the door to go down. He turned to look at me. "Your DNA is fascinating, simply fascinating! Some of the structural components of your DNA have been altered. Well, all mutants DNA have been altered, but yours make the rest of us seem like… a practice sketch for the masterpiece!" He face was glowing.

"Please, just… tell me what my powers are." I whispered. My head was pounding and I couldn't figure out why.

"Oh right, this way." He led the way through the lab into his office. He gestured from me to take a seat next to him. He opened a file on his computer and opened it. It flicked on to show a model of a strand of DNA. "This is your DNA." A box encircled a chuck of my DNA. "This section is the section that is altered. See here?" he traced one section. "Typically known for causing telepathic mutations." He shifted the view to a different part. "Now this is the area know for pyrokenisis. Or anything to do with flames. Ordinarily, someone with your abilities would have this section here altered." He circled one section. "It is altered, don't get me wrong, but it was only slightly altered, something that is atypical of all of humanity. Just a simple replacement of a few genes." He looked over at me. "That simplifies to there shouldn't a reason why you have any pyro abilities."

"Please, just tell me what I have."

"I will, in a moment." He switched views again. "Now, here is one section that I know has an affect. If you look at it, it's been severely altered. It is what causes you to have horns and spikes. What is abnormal is this section here. Its shows a different protein being used in the creation of your spike and horns than normal. Usually horn mutations are made of the same protein as your finger nails, bones, or in some cases, ivory. Yours are made of a compound I'm not entirely familiar with, but it is akin to some forms of alloys. These are not primary mutations. Quite the opposite, they were triggered by another mutation, one of your primary ones." He switched again. "It was caused by this. This one causes just about every mutation in your body, except the section related to telepathy, which we can assume is your dream walking. This is connected to the spikes, to the horns, to the flames, to several other dozen. Surprisingly enough, your unique shielding is not a conscious or subconscious development. It is one of your abilities. It is connected to your unknown power."

"You're basically telling me that I have two main mutations, one of which is dream walking and that doesn't affect anything, and an unknown one, which is connected to just about everything else." I snapped. He was making my head worse.

"Simplified, yes. There hasn't been a mutation that has been so interconnected like this. Even mutants who develop secondary powers are usually due to extreme heightened emotional, physical or mental anguish. All these show signs of some natural development. I wish I could help you know what it is, but the only thing I can do is tell you what its not. This area," he circled the area that he had said was my primary mutation, "was thought to be unable to mutate. Originally, we thought it connected to the digestion system, but apparently we were wrong."

"You have no idea what my power is?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I know it's… hard to not know. All I know is what it's not. It's not telepathy, it's nothing to do with fire, it doesn't even connect to flight. I'm sorry Alex." He rested his hand on my shoulder and I felt unaccountably warm.

"I need to get out of here." I muttered. He withdrew his hand and nodded. I don't know how I knew he nodded, I just did.

"Come on, you could use some dinner." He guided me through the halls to the elevator. When we reached the public floors, he stopped me from leaving. "You know, we're all here for you. If you need to talk, I'm always on call, and I know Emma cares."

_I stepped out of the elevator and turned to stare at him. As the doors closed, I responded. "No… she doesn't." the doors sealed and I left, heading to my room._


	6. Chapter 6

Emma knocked on the door again. It was late, just before lights out. She would have come sooner, but she'd had a staff meeting and she hadn't wanted to cut this one short so she could go to that one.

No one answered once more. She probed the room, but wasn't surprised to feel nothing. She knocked again, for one last time.

"What!" she finally heard shouted. It sounded a bit hoarse. The door jerked open and revealed a tired looking Alex, her eyes glowing red. A glance into the room revealed that she had been at her desk.

"Studying?" Emma questioned. Alex glared at her.

"No, I was copying my notes from English into one of the spiral notebooks that I found. It's time consuming." Alex was tense.

"Alex, I want to talk." Emma sighed.

"What if I say I don't want to talk?" She snapped. She glared at the telepath. "I am not in the mood to be yelled at, I have a pounding headache and I had a sucky meeting with Mr. McCoy. So if you'll excuse me, I'd rather be left alone." She began to close the door.

"Alex, tell me what's wrong." Emma held the door open. Alex whipped her head at Emma.

"I don't want to talk about it." Alex lowered her head slightly, making the points of her horns much more prominent. "I don't have to talk to you, Ms Frost. Give up." Her eyes were misting now.

"Well then, I want to talk to you about something." Emma returned.

"If it's about the display in class, you don't need to worry about it. I won't be there tomorrow." Alex answered the question before Emma even had the chance to ask it.

"Alex, why don't you want to talk to me?" Emma continued a bit more softly.

Alex hesitated for a moment and something flitted across her eyes. But then she hardened again and glared at her. "Because you didn't understand." It was said softly, so softly that it was a total contrast that to the expression on her face. "You're a telepath, you understand that the mental and physical planes are different. You've been inside my head, you've seen everything there. You've… you've experienced a lot of pain… pain I understand. I thought… you'd understand… but… you don't even try." Alex gently, but firmly closed the door, leaving Emma to stare at the door.

* * *

_"So you're back." The voice had changed a little bit, become more feminine. I sighed, knowing what it meant. My suspicions were confirmed when the demon stepped out of the shadows, now a demoness. _

_"I don't know why I come back." I whispered. I sat on the edge of the plateau, swinging my legs childishly. The demoness knelt behind me. She wasn't an identical copy of me, but if my horns grew to be a few inches longer, we would be. The only real difference was the length of her horns._

_"I do. You want to know what I am, why I even exist when you tried several times to banish me. I tell you once again, I am you. I am you. You might not want to listen, but I am you." Her arms rested on my shoulders. "Alex, they will never understand your powers, because you are alone." The demon seemed to hesitate before sighing. "I may be a demon, but I am not evil. You may be alone in your powers, but you don't have to be alone in life." She rested her head on my shoulder. "People are reaching out to you, but you are pushing them away. They don't want to hurt you. One I can even see loving you. But you have to let them in. Don't hide your demon Alex. They need you to save them." I heard screams from those below. But when everyone was trying to find the source, I heard it again and realised that it was a real scream. I turned to my demon half._

_"I don't want to kill anyone!"_

_"You have a choice Alex. You get to choose when the times come." She smiled as I wiped the dream clean and forced myself to wake up._

I bolted upright and shot out of bed. I could hear the screams near me and swung open the door, turning my head left and right before charging down the hall to my right.

The house was dark, darker than I thought it could get. I didn't like it at all. It seemed too much like a trap. Somewhere in the depths of my mind I wavered for a moment, sure this was just a dream or a test, but the scream that was just ahead of me was much too real to be fake.

I pushed through the doorway and saw a guy in black pinning a girl on the bed. She was struggling as hard as she could, screaming as loud as she could. Her room was a double dorm, but either her roommate wasn't here, or she was alone in it.

I didn't really recognise her. The moment I paused to remember fled before I could try. The man outweighed her and clearly was overpowering her. I took the last few steps.

"Get off her!" I roared, grabbing the back of his shirt and flinging him across the room. He slammed into the wall and a picture fell from its place. "You don't have the right!" he tried to run past me to the door, but I swung my head to catch his arm on my horns. It sent him off balance and careening into another wall. His shirt was torn and I could smell the tangy sweet scent of blood.

I charged at him, shouldering him into the wall yet again. It rammed the air out of his lungs and he fell, clutching his chest. I looked over at the girl. She was shaking and crying, tears slipping from her eyes.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, just loud enough for her to hear.

"N-n-no-o." She couldn't seem to find her voice properly. "Th-hat's m-my ex-bo-oyfriend who d-didn't like that I was-s a mu-utant." I didn't know what to do then. Part of me wanted to forget this guy and go to help her, but the rest of me wanted to kick the tar out of him.

I was stepping over his arms to go help her when his arms snaked up to trip me and I landed heavily on one shoulder. I was about to get up when I found myself pinned like he was.

"No one replaces me! No one! And damn well not a fucking mutant!" the guy screamed, his fist smashing into my face. I felt my blood trickle down my face. "She's MINE, only mine and I'm not willing to share!" he split my lip and broke my nose. "Go back to where you came from, Mutie!" I snapped.

"I will and I'll see you there." I murmured. It caught him off guard and I slammed his chin backwards, slamming his head back so much he was lifted to a standing position. I stood up as well, grabbing his throat by one hand and lifting him. My spikes unsheathed and I held one of the points to his throat. I smiled at his terrified expression.

"Hell is not a pretty place, it's not all about tormenting you with your sins, it's about survival of the fittest. Your soul would be torn apart within moments. It will be with you as you sink into oblivion, that moment of ultimate pain." His eyes widened in fear and he struggled more clawing at my arm. "This is my home. No one interferes with my home without consequences!"

Light filtered in from the hallway. There were a bunch of shapes, many of them just standing there, but some slipped into the room. I took my gaze off him for a second and saw that Logan, Scott, Jean, and a white haired weather witch were coming in. the two women went to the girl and the men came towards me.

"Put him down." Scott commanded.

"No." I replied, shaking the man in my grasp a few times.

"Put him down now!" Scott raised his voice.

"Help me! She said she was going to kill me and send me to hell! Said I was gonna have my soul destroyed!" he struggled even more. "Get the demon to let me go!"

"Kid, just put him down, we'll deal with him." Logan stepped forward. I glared at him.

"You'll just put this scumbag into the hands of the police and within a week, he'll be walking the streets again! No." I began to squeeze harder and he started to sputter in my grasp.

"Let him go demon!" the white haired weather witch spat. I threw him at her, enraged beyond my control.

"Fine!" I turned to storm out of the room to find the door blocked by milling students.

I heard some whispers, some commenting on my eyes, some commenting on my horns, but most were commenting on the streaks of red through my skin. I realised only then that I had gone to bed in a sports bra and underwear. But I didn't really care, I was too angry, especially when I heard the word demon said several times.

"Get the hell out of my way!" I snapped. They froze where they stood and I growled at them. I swung one spike at them, and from its end, an arc of red energy sped towards them. It separated them forcibly, not hurting them, but moving them apart enough that I could get by.

I stormed down the path I had created and headed back to my room. I was halfway up the stairs when I heard someone following me. I was turning when I was forcibly turned with one hand. Scott's red glasses were glaring at me.

"You arrogant child. You can't do those kinds of things here! You listen to me and follow my orders when I issue them!" he snapped, gripping my arm in a bruising grip.

"For one thing, Cyclops, I am not an X-man. Yes, I know what an X-man is. And would you rather I let him get to the point of raping her, at which point you would have arrived? Would you? Would you honestly like to put that girl into a pain she will remember for all her life and haunt every night of her sleep in her dreams, where that guy's face would contort into something she fears more? Would you like that?" he didn't reply. "Let go of me." I said it softly, but he didn't obey. "I said, let go of me."

"You need to see the Professor. You're not stable." He began to pull me back towards the scene.

"Let go of me, you stupid fucktard! When I don't do something you want, I'm unstable? Try fucking pissed! And when I try to go calm down, you come up here and tell me I have to obey you?" I grabbed his hand and gripped it, squeezing on it. From the expression on his face, it hurt. I heard something crunch in his hands. "I could have sworn that people new to their powers were cautiously approached, not verbally attacked! If you ever touch me again, it won't be you're hand that will be crushed, it will be your head!"

"Alex." I hadn't realised she was near. I swore and let go of Scott's hand to flee. "Alex, stop." I automatically stopped. "Relax, no one is about to hurt-" Emma continued, but Scott interrupted her.

"Gods, what is wrong with you? Every time someone tries to touch you, you attack them! You wonder why I think you're unstable? It's because you act like a wild animal when someone touches you!"

"Scott, you idiot!" I heard Emma say before the world erupted in flames.

"Wild animal? Is that what I am? Because I hate it when I flinch when a male touches me? Yes, I freak out when males touch me. Males! As in the Y chromosome. I know what its bloody like to feel that pain." I felt a touch on my shoulder and whirled, jerking away from it. It was only Emma, but I had no where to run. "I don't judge you for being one, I just avoid touching you. I can't…" I grabbed my head as the flames slammed back into me. Emma came calmly towards me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I couldn't help but shake at the wanted, but denied contact. I dragged my gaze up to Scott's and I realised I had fallen down.

_"You cannot understand what it's like, to have someone else's nightmares haunt you. Dreams they aren't even aware they are having. You have a hard time grasping the pain telepaths in the real world suffer as they hear what people think of them, every moment of everyday, and you never can, cause you haven't felt it." I turned my head into Emma's shoulder and hid my face from them. "You can't understand, because you can't feel it." I closed my eyes and fled from the world._


	7. Chapter 7

Emma felt the body in her arms go slightly limp and she sighed, caressing the short hair. Her eyes rose to meet Scott's.

"Scott, go away please." Emma whispered.

"She tried to kill a man, I had to stop her." Scott retorted.

"If she had tried, he would be dead." Emma shot back. "She was reacting to the girl's fear and pain. If you had asked her to leave the room with him, she would have and then she would have released him. Releasing the man in the room increased the fear so she kept hold of him." She felt a shiver from Alex.

"She just crushed my hand!" He growled. Emma saw the pain in his expression.

"Scott, weren't you listening? She was raped before. She asked you to let go, and you didn't. Guess what that reminded her of?" Scott went quiet. "She was young when it happened and she's lived with it since then, lived in silence. She's hurting and you aren't helping."

Scott opened his mouth to reply, closed it, and finally nodded, turning to go back down the stairs.

Emma rocked Alex slightly as students began to go back to their rooms in two's and three's. Most of them shot her odd looks and whispered to their friends, but she paid no attention.

"Alex." She shook her gently. "Alex." She wouldn't wake. She felt her presence and slipped into the dream the girl was having.

_It was just as she thought hell would look like. The magma lit the cavernous room. She was standing on a plateau with thousands of demons on the lower levels. Only two people were up here. One was Alex, who had her legs dangling over the edge and the other was someone else._

_"They kept calling me a… demon."_

_"I know sweetlings, I know. But you couldn't have saved her if you weren't. You wouldn't have been strong enough. There would have been two victims instead of one."_

_"Will it always hurt?" Emma could hear the pain in her voice._

_"When hasn't it?" The other woman leaned over and rested her head on Alex's shoulder, pulling her close. "There was always something that made you different. First were the unusual bruises and cuts, and then you came out of the closet, and now you find out that you're a mutant, one with unusual powers. You trade one pain for another." There was affection in the woman's voice. "Don't worry, you'll find someone to love you, you just have to be patient." The woman stood up and turned. _

_Emma was shocked by what she saw. Standing before her was Alex. Only her horns were longer, and she was older, with a confidence that she had never seen in Alex. She stepped forward and smiled at Emma, her eyes lighting up. She paused just before __she__ passed the telepath._

_"You know… she trusts you a lot." The woman's eyes sought Emma's out. "More than you could know. Just as you have your dreams of love and acceptance, so does she." Her eyes pierced into Emma. "Don't make me regret what I'm about to tell you Human. I know you heard. She is gay and not because of the past. She's always been gay. It's part of who she is. At the last school, she was alienated to the point that only her mother would encourage her, that her mother was her only friend. Her mother encouraged her to go to school, to be normal. What she never knew was the constant teasing, the constant bullying and the regular beatings."_

_"How could her mother not know? They had a telepathic link." Emma replied quietly. The woman shook her head sadly._

_"The experiments ruined her telepathy. The bond was pretty much one way, unless Alex specifically called to her. Her mother never knew, never suspected any of it. She thought that even if she hadn't sensed it, Alex would tell her. But Alex didn't. She knew that it would hurt her mother to know she couldn't even pretend to be normal. What I need to tell you, is that this school is reminding Alex exactly of the beginning of the trials of the last school. If it doesn't stop she will run. She will run and she won't stop until one of two things happen. One, she will run all her days, never settling down, always mistrusting, until she becomes what everyone fears, a psychopathic mutant with a grudge against the living. Or two, she will run until she finds someone who cares enough about her to make her feel loved, needed. If that happens, it would be a race between you and those you fight, and the likelihood of you winning is slim, because Alex would be running from you. It has to stop. Please… save her. Don't let her become feral." She placed a friendly kiss on Emma's cheek, smiling a bit. "I know you can do it. I trust you… and only you." She walked past and Emma watched her. She didn't realise she had been watching a little too intently until the older Alex's voice drifted back. "Might want to talk to Alex rather than stare at me." She disappeared into a puff of smoke._

_Emma shook her head and turned back to Alex. She looked smaller here, more fragile. She looked like the age she was. Emma stepped forward to rest a hand on Alex's shoulder, which gained her a tired look from Alex._

_"Hello." Emma said softly. She gave Alex her small smile. Alex turned to look at the river of lava._

_"Hey." She replied. "I'm sorry… for everything." Her voice barely reached a whisper. "I'm sorry I got so mad. I just…"_

_"It wasn't your fault. You saved Maggie's life. She is a rather fragile person, a rape would have destroyed her. You knew that. You felt that when even Jean didn't." Alex turned to look at Emma again._

_"I crushed Scott's hand. Even with Henry's help, it will be painful for weeks." Alex shook her head violently. "I didn't want to hurt him…" Emma was surprised to see tears in Alex's eyes. "I'm a… monster…"_

_"No, you aren't. You are not a monster. A monster wouldn't be crying now." Emma moved closer to wipe a tear from Alex's cheek. "You were pushed past your boundaries. I know that and now Scott knows that. He may not understand completely, but he isn't mad about his hand." Emma rubbed Alex's tense shoulders._

_Alex took a sharp breath in and after a moment let it out slowly. She looked at Emma, really looked at her. "Emma… I'm… sorry about earlier. It's just…"_

_"Alex, I may not understand, but I can conceive it. I went to a mental institution when I was younger, because of my telepathy and the things they did… were painful to say the least." Alex turned to snake one arm around Emma's waist, giving her a half hug. "Will you talk to me now?" Alex withdrew and stared far across the plane. "You don't have to if-"_

_"Not here, not now." Alex turned to look at Emma. "I control my dreams with my thoughts. If I remembered them here, it would quickly turn into a nightmare in which we relive every pain. It is pain enough to remember." She hesitated. "You saw the demoness?" Emma tilted her head to one side._

_"Yes. She looks like you, but older." Alex sighed at the response._

_"I was trying to deny it, but she's right I guess. I think I figured out what my main power is." There was a bitter smile on Alex's face._

_"Care to enlighten me?" She shook her head._

_"Another time." She waved and Emma felt herself being pulled rather than pushed to her own body. Alex faded from her mind._

But when Emma opened her eyes, she could swear she had felt something touch her cheek. She raised a hand before she noticed Jean hovering over her.

"Thought you might want to head to somewhere more private, or at least more comfortable." She murmured softly. The lights were dimmed again. "Maggie is with Rogue, she's going to be fine."

"I'm glad she is." Both women turned their gazes to Alex, who was smiling wearily. "She doesn't need that kind of thing haunting her." Abruptly, Alex switched topics. "Could I skip your class Mrs Summers? It's first thing and I don't think I'll be able to stay awake if I attend."

"I think I can look the other way this time." She smiled and began down the hall. "You'll have to make it up later though." She turned down another hall.

Alex began to stand up. Emma swiftly got to her feet and helped the younger woman to her feet, though Alex was shaky when she did. She tried to smile.

"I guess I might not be able to make your class either." Alex leaned heavily on the wall. "You can go get some sleep. I think I can make it on my own."

"Come, I'll make sure you get there." Emma slid her arm around Alex's waist and helped her up the rest of the stairs, taking most of her weight on. By the time they reached Alex's door, Alex was shaking from exhaustion. Red mist wrapped around the door knob and swung the door open moments before they passed through the threshold.

Alex collapsed onto the bed immediately when they reached it. She propped herself up against the pillows and gestured Emma to sit down.

"Thank you… Ms Frost… for everything." Alex could barely keep her eyes open.

"Why do you call me Emma in your dreams and Ms Frost out here?" Emma couldn't help but be curious. And from the answer she got, Alex was being a little more open than usual in her exhaustion.

"In the dreams, I am your equal. I can do anything I want, I could fly if I wanted to. In some ways, there, I am superior. But out here, I know I am not your equal. I will be lucky if I'm ever your equal. I know that. In this reality, I know who is stronger than me and I know to respect those that are." Her head fell back to lie on the cushions.

"Scott's stronger than you." Emma commented. That got a wry chuckle from her.

"No, Scott's better trained than me. He isn't stronger than me. There is a difference." She was softly smiling.

"Who else do you respect?" Emma questioned.

"You, Mr McCoy, Mrs Summer, although I can't see why she married Scott, the Professor, but that's more from my mom telling me about my great uncle than anything… that guy… I don't know his name but he's very brawny, very feral."

"Logan?" Emma supplied.

"He smokes a lot and he has that kinda wild vibe to him." Alex shrugged.  
"I didn't think you'd met him."

"I haven't. I saw him… in his dreams. He was happy there, truly, blissfully happy. You don't get that often in the dream world." She leaned her head back on the pillow.

"Is there anyone else?" Alex shook her.

"No one that I've met. Well, I respect a lot of people, but those are the ones that are in a class of their own, where they differentiate in the two realms." Emma frowned at the phrasing.

"Why does that make us different?"

Alex blinked lazily at Emma, a small smile on her face.

"Because, when I see someone in the realm of dreams, they... they have this aura… thing. I can tell, at a glance, whether I can trust that person. Sometimes, very few times, I can trust someone with my own soul. Mom… before it happened… was one. But then she changed. I couldn't let her in anymore, I couldn't let her see my world." Suddenly the air in became very tense and Alex's eyes shot open, staring into Emma. They seemed to bare every secret with Emma's very soul. They were a fiery red.

"Your world?" Emma whispered.

"Everyone has a world. Even I do. Only… I can't let many people in. They wouldn't understand it. I don't really understand it. But it is my world and always will be." Alex sat up straight and held out one hand, gathering red mist to it until it was a small ball of energy. "I finally have a reason though." Her eyes left Emma's face to stare at the ball. "Mr McCoy said that the area I mutated in was one they thought to be unchangeable. It isn't involved in digestive, at least, not in the way he thinks. It's involved with the energy someone uses. Mutants usually have reservoirs of power that they call upon, which is still unchanged from normal human reservoir. Mine… taps into a different sort of energy…" She stared at the ball of red energy. "This energy." Her eyes returned to Emma's and they seemed to pulse. "When you saw that cavern, what was your first thought?" Emma hesitated, not wanting to voice it aloud. "I bet it was something to do with Hell. Mom thought so too… but she only got to see it once, so she thought it was just a nightmare I had."

"It's not like you had a choice." Emma growled and Alex smiled.

"What lives in hell Mrs Frost? What did you see on the lower levels?"

"Demons…" Emma was struck with realization. "The energy you were talking about, you're not using the same energy we do… you use demonic energy." Alex let her smile slip and she only nodded, closing her hand on the energy

"The demoness tried to tell me, I just didn't want to listen." The red faded and Emma was staring into Alex's grey eyes. "I'm so alone…" Emma heard the heartache there.

"We're here, all of us. Even Scott. He may be a little unsophisticated at times, but he is a good guy overall. You aren't alone."

"Will you be there?" Emma felt a tentative brush against her shields.

"My office door is always open to students." The mental touch withdrew for a moment.

"Not as a teacher… as a… friend." Alex whispered her voice barely audible.

"I can try." Emma said, giving Alex her soft smile. Not many wanted to be her friend, no matter what age. There was another mental touch on her shields and she lowered them to reply to it. :What!: she snapped. But there was no answer. She felt whoever it was touch her mentally, quite intimately, but before she had the chance to get angry, it vanished. When she placed her shields back up, she saw that Alex had fallen asleep.

Emma smiled and caressed the tousled hair for a moment before she got up and headed back to get some sleep.

* * *

_"What are you doing here kid? You gotta get out of here! They'll come after you too!" I shook my head and wiped the dream, leaving the two of us in the white plain. He jerked and looked around. "What just happened? Where are we?" he asked. _

_"You're dreaming. Your nightmare drew me out, I had to help." I smiled shyly at him. "Sorry if it's personal, I know how hard it can be. The events of the past always haunt us." _

_"You're the new kid, the one who is scared of pretty much everyone but Emma." He replied. I glared at him._

_"I'm not scared, just overly cautious. I think I've got reason to be." I stuck my tongue out at him. _

_"So do most of the other kids here. Don't see them get scared at the guys." He wasn't meaning to be callous, it was just automatic._

_"I have a very good reason for that, just like you have very good reason to run __from__ those people. They did horrible things to you. Men did horrible things to me as well. Simple as that." He studied me for a while. _

_"So it's true then. You were raped."_

_"Let's not talk about the subject." I held out a hand. "I'm Alex."_

_"Logan." He scented the air, his nostrils flaring. "Interesting." He commented._

_"What? Do I stink or something?" I murmured. He shook his head. _

_"No, you just smell like brimstone. It's an odd scent for someone living, that's all." He grinned. "You're much more confident here." I smiled at him and suddenly we were in a mall, with dozens of people around us._

_"Wouldn't you be if you could do this?" I twirled to indicate the people around us. They vanished after a few moments. "It's like being able to control the world!" I grinned at him._

_"Must be like Jean and Emma feel sometimes." He crouched down, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Wanna spar, since you're here?" _

_"I warn you, I am no martial artist, I just sorta flail around." I said, mimicking his movements. The mall vanished._

_"I'll take it easy on you then." He __leap__leapt__ at me, fist raised. I scrambled aside and swung my fist at him, barely catching one of his arms. He just smiled at me and came again. _

_We sparred for what seemed like hours, with me trying to keep away from his blows and him trying to keep up with me. A noise reached me and I stopped, tilting my head to the side. Logan stopped his fist inches away, as though he was aware I wasn't sparring anymore. _

_"Either my alarm is going off really early or someone is in my room." I smiled at him. "It was fun, maybe I could do it with you sometime for real. You wouldn't by chance offer courses of self defence would you?" He smiled and nodded. _

_"Only to people I like." He smiled at me. "Just come talk to me, and we'll see if we can arrange a time." I smiled and waved at him. _

_"Enjoy your sleep, I doubt you'll have a nightmare now."_

I opened my eyes, still smiling. But that smile slipped when I heard a noise, very soft noise. It definitely wasn't my alarm. When I heard someone swear softly when they banged into the chest at the bottom of my bed I knew someone was there, and not someone I was familiar with.

I waited, hearing their footsteps come closer. I shivered, but remained still, hoping they would just go away. Of course, when was my luck ever with me?

I felt them lift the covers. It brought back memories I hated, of a time a I despised. I stiffened when I felt someone slid into the bed next to me. Whoever it was leapt out of bed immediately as soon as they had dropped the covers. The candles in the room lit, their flames over a foot long, throwing the room into something close to daylight.

It lit up my intruders face. It was a male, one I wasn't familiar with. Something in his face I recognised, though his expression was foreign to me. I didn't notice the roar that I was releasing. I didn't notice anything but the familiar fear that throbbed in my veins. I scrambled back, trying to pass through the walls, just trying to get away. I didn't care who it was, or why, but I was transported back to the time in which the government had taken my mother. To the time in which I was in foster care.

_"Ten minutes." The man at the door said as the other one approached. It felt like I was strapped down, even though I knew I wasn't Mommy was though. The man's breath smelled funny when he moved his face closer. Mommy turned her head away in an attempt to escape the smell. His hand hit her and it felt like it was hitting me.. "I didn't say you could look away you little whore." I didn't understand why he was laying on top of her. It was weird._

_"You be __a__ good and stay quiet. Maybe I'll give you pleasure if you do." He moved to take off his shorts before he climbed back on top of my mom. He smiled, grabbed both wrists, holding them in a bruising grip. My wrists felt like they were breaking_

_"You'll like this…" He murmured, before he thrust into her, into me, causing me to scream. It was worse than anything I'd ever felt and it hurt. The whole time, I wished for it to stop. For the first time in my life, I wanted to die. _


	8. Chapter 8

Emma shot bolt upright. She had been sleeping soundly, heavily for once, when someone shook her awake. She was surprised to see Henry there, his face an expression of worry. The fear flowed off him in the waves.

"Henry?" She said.

"Get up, it's Alex. She won't stop screaming and no one can get into the room. Jean got burned when she tried to open the door." Henry passed her a robe and pulled her out of the room. "She isn't projecting, not at the moment, but Jean kept feeling her fade in and out, and it's getting to the point where she can feel the pain."

Many of the adults were milling around the room, and Emma could hear the screams. What's more, she could feel the intense pain and the fear. She could sense Alex as clear as a bell.

"Emma! You're the only one who can do anything! There is someone else in there!" Emma wanted to throttle Jean for that comment. It wasn't like Alex was trying to kill whoever it was.

"Shut up and let me try! I can barely think with the pain crowding me!" Emma snapped, turning her thoughts toward Alex. The pain spiked suddenly and she had to bite her lip. She tried to contact Alex. Alex let me in! and suddenly, the door was flung open and the door smashed into the wall. The boy stood in the middle of the room, frozen in place, an expression of fear on his face.

Emma passed the boy by to run to the figure who was screaming on the bed. There was something intensely demonic about the voice, in the way it seemed to be far deeper than Alex could create.

Emma didn't know how she knew, but instead of doing what she normally would, she pulled the struggling girl into her embrace and just held her. "It's alright," she murmured into her hair, caressing her back. "You're safe here. I'm here. I understand,"

After a few moments, the noise stopped and she felt Alex bury her head into her shoulder. She felt the sobs wrack the body she held tightly in her arms and she could feel the tears on her bare shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing in here Jason?" Emma snarled at him. The boy seemed to unfreeze, but he just mumbled under his breath.

"Explain yourself." Charles came into the room, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I… I had a dream about her. I thought… I thought she wanted me to come. She was teasing me and she was leading me on." The boy seemed to be in shock.

"What kind of dream?" Charles asked. There was steel in his voice.

"A…" the boy went red. "It was… personal." He stammered.

"Not good enough!" Emma snapped. Alex was shivering.

"I had an erotic dream with her in it. I figured she must want more, and I figured it had to be her, 'cause she's a dreamwalker." The boy said angrily.

"It wasn't her." Logan had come in. There was something odd in his eyes when he spoke to the boy. "She was in my dream for the last few hours, sparring with me."

"But… she came to me… in my dream… she wanted me… I know it…" he was stammering again.

"You never stood a chance with her, she ain't interested in guys." Logan snapped. "She's gay."

That caused the boy to stiffen and become shame faced. "I… didn't know…" he looked at Alex. "I didn't know any of it. I didn't know that she was gay or the other stuff… I'm sorry Professor."

"It's not your fault." A whispered voice said into Emma's chest. Her shivering had lessened and was only a mild shivering. "You just jumped to conclusions. You assume since I am a dreamwalker, that if I appear in your dreams, it must be the real me."

"I didn't mean to hurt you." Jason said. He looked defeated, as though someone had taken a baseball bat to him emotionally.

"I know." Alex couldn't keep the break out of her voice and she gripped Emma harder.

"Get out of here." Emma told the room. Everyone complied, filtering out, one by one. Jean paused, as though she was considering taking over, but Scott hurried her out.

Will she be alright? Charles whispered in her mind as he went out of sight.

Eventually. It's been a long time since then. As long as stunts like this don't happen, Alex won't have to be forcibly reminded. She wanted to glare at the man, but he was already gone.

I want her to be tested in the danger room. Put her through a simulation when you can. Charles replied. Emma only sighed

"Hey kiddo." Logan sat down on the edge of the bed. "You okay?" Alex turned her head to look at him.

"I'll be fine." Her grip on Emma tightened for a moment before easing.

"You still want to take those classes?" He asked. Emma shot him a questioning look.

Logan? Emma sent him.

If she can think of being able to defend herself, maybe her memories won't scare her so much. Just let her digest it for a moment. Logan replied.

"I don't know… I don't think I could handle many classes right now." She reburied her face in Emma's shoulder. "Too many people."

"It would be one on one at for awhile."

"I don't know… if I can…"

"Well, just think about it kiddo. Try not to make a nightly habit of waking me up okay?" That got a small smile out of Alex.

"'Kay." She replied. He left and closed the door behind him. The silence in the room was tense, but comfortable. Slowly, Alex seemed to relax. She nuzzled Emma's neck affectionately before withdrawing. "Thank you Emma." Her eyes glowed for a moment. "Thank you for being here as a friend." Emma couldn't help but be startled by that. "I'm better now, you should go get some sleep you have a class to teach in the morning.

Emma hesitantly got to her feet. Something caressed the inside of her barrier, but it vanished as soon as she sensed it. "You'll be fine on your own?"

"Of course. I've dealt with nightmares before. They don't return after I have them." Alex got up. "Go. I'll be fine and you'll need rest. God knows you'll have a hell of a time keeping my mind focused in class. So go, get sleep so you can keep me awake tomorrow." Emma nodded and headed to the door. She paused.

"Goodnight Alex." She turned slightly. "Try to get a good sleep." Alex nodded.

"You too." Emma nodded as well and left. Alex sunk down in her chair, head in her hands. She shuddered a few times more, before she took out her English book and began to read.

* * *

Emma. Jean's mental voice caused Emma to internally sigh. I'm worried about Alex. It doesn't look like she's been sleeping. Emma watched as her class filtered in. I believe she is in your class now.

I will look into it. Emma commented. She felt Jean's mental ascent and her mental touch disappear.

She surveyed the room, noting everyone but Alex was here already. Just as the bell rang, the dreamwalker slipped in, as had become her custom, sitting towards the back, her face hidden in shadow.

Emma frowned. She had noticed yesterday that the girl had seemed tired, but the light had played across her face too much, so she assumed that it had been her imagination. But she indirectly observed Alex as she began the lesson, taking care not to allow Alex to feel her scrutiny.

There were definite signs of absolute exhaustion. Her eyes were unfocused, there were dark circles beneath them, and she seemed to lack energy, barely able to hold her head high.

"If a telepath wanted to disrupt someone's dreams, what would they do…" she let her eyes wander the room, before resting on Alex. She didn't want to have to snap Alex back to reality, but is seemed necessary. "…Alex."

"They can do several things. If they are more empathically inclined, they can change a dream to a nightmare by inspiring fear or paranoia. If they are more along the lines of thought sensors, they can manipulate the thoughts of the subconscious to achieve the same goal. Or, in a more straight forward approach, they could simply prevent the dreams from occurring, which, after a time, will cause the person to become irritable, moody, and irrational." Alex replied promptly. Her eyes focused on Emma's. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been spacing out.

You're getting better at communicating telepathically. Just try to look attentive. You may actually be attentive but you don't look like it. Emma replied, sending the thought back as privately as it had been received.

Emma's attention was drawn to the discussion at hand and though she kept an eye on Alex, she didn't call on her again, despite the way the girl looked as if she wasn't entirely here.

The class ended with Emma assigning an essay. Only Alex didn't groan, quite the contrary, her eyes lit up slightly. Alex got up to leave with the rest of the class.

Stay a moment Alex. She sent. Alex turned and placed her books back down on the table and leaned her hip against the wall. She closed her eyes, simply waiting. When the last student left the room, Emma carefully examined Alex.

Jean was right. Alex looked like she was about to drop.

"Alex, are you alright?" Emma said softly, perching on the edge of the desk. Alex opened her eyes and smiled.

"I'm alright." She looked around the classroom. "Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"Alex, you look exhausted. Have you been sleeping?" Emma replied.

"Yes." Alex met her eyes when she said that. There was nothing to say that she was lying…

… But for some reason, Emma knew it was just that. A lie meant to keep her out. Emma narrowed her eyes and let the air cool.

"I don't appreciate being lied to." She said calmly, coldly.

"What would you like me to say then?" Alex wouldn't be baited, her reply was even calmer, and for a moment, Emma could have sworn a touch more coldly.

"I would like the truth." Emma growled. Alex's eyes became blank. There was nothing in her expression, just cool, collected calm.

"The truth is nothing you would want to hear." There was nothing in that voice, except maybe a hint of condensation, which caused Emma not to really think through what she said.

"Don't presume to know me enough to know my wants. I know I want to know the truth." Emma saw hurt flash into Alex's grey eyes before they were quickly covered, but she could feel it, and she regretted her harsh words.

"Don't worry, Ms Frost." Alex carefully placed that between them. "I will never make that presumption again." Alex grabbed her books. "I have to get to my next class."

"Alex, talk to me." Emma said. Alex stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder.

"The truth? I haven't slept in days. I don't even want to try to fall asleep because I know what lies waiting for me there." And Alex slipped out of the room. I'll be fine. It usually passes in a week or so. and Alex was gone, giving the truth, a truth Emma had hoped she wouldn't hear.

* * *

"Hey Kiddo. You're late." Logan growled. I smiled, in spite of the words, because I knew he wouldn't mind.

"Ms Frost wanted to talk to me." I didn't see anyone else. "Where is everyone?"

"On their run. You, however, need to be tested." Logan gestured for me to follow. He headed toward the teacher's dorm.

"On?" He smacked me playfully.

"Not that kind of test. You're going to be put in the danger room. We want to see how much control you have over your powers and what they can do. We will put you into scenarios in which you have to escape or retrieve something." He patted my shoulder. "I think you'll do fine." We went into the elevator at the end of the hallway. He placed his hand on the genetic sampler and we descended.

"I don't get an option in this do I?" I asked, sighing. I would have preferred to just not know.

"Sorry Kiddo, all the students are tested here." He grinned and the doors opened. He led me down a metal corridor and gestured to a door. It was a change room. "In there you'll find a body suit. It has equipment built into it to keep track of your pulse, adrenaline flow, a bunch of medical mumbo jumbo that I don't really care about. At the other end of the change room is another door. Just go through that and you'll be in the danger room." Logan pushed me gently through the door.

"Great, I get to get myself hurt, wonderful." I rubbed my eyes. Of course, this couldn't come after I had a decent night's sleep." I saw the body suit. It was a solid black. At least it wasn't pink or something. I slipped my clothes off and struggled to get the form fitting suit on. I grabbed the boots under the bench and tied them snugly around my feet.

Taking a moment to gather myself, I took a deep breath. Finally, I slipped into the massive room.

If I hadn't known about it from my mother, I would daresay I would have been awed. The danger room was a masterful piece of technology. The silver walls glinted in the artificial light. I looked up at the surveillance room.

"You brought me here, so tell me what you want me to do." I called up. I saw vague movement.

"We will be placing you in a structure, from which we expect you to escape. Make it to the outside of the structure." I heard Scott say. I sighed as the structure appeared around me. I was in a cell. I look around and nearly smiled when I saw not only an air vent, but a heating vent. The air vents would be guarded, but the heat vents wouldn't be, not at this time of the year.

I look carefully out the window of my cell, trying to see in if anyone was coming. I didn't see anyone, so I turned to the grate. My left spike unsheathed and I shoved it roughly between the grate and the wall, wrenching it out quickly, careful not to let it clang as I put it on the floor. With another quick glance out the window I slipped into the narrow confines and slipped forward.

When a few minutes later, a steel wall lowered from the ceiling of the vent, I wanted to murder Scott. I know that wouldn't have been there before.

"Jackass." I muttered under my breath. I drew back my fist as far as I could, and punched it as hard as I could. A moment later, my spike unsheathed again, and punctured the wall. Soon, it was just a square piece of metal and I carefully slipped through the hole I made.

The tunnel ended in the boiler room. I dropped from the grate in the ceiling wincing at the sound it made when it hit the floor. I heard a door open and knew I had only moments before being discovered. I spotted a small window and ran towards it.

"Hey you!" I swore. "Stop!" I didn't oblige him and heard him draw his gun. I spared a glance back as I opened the window and saw he was aiming. I began to heave myself through the window and he began firing. I felt a burning sensation on my ribs, feeling like there was a large burn there. I pulled myself the rest of the way out and ended the mission. I made no effort to stem the blood trickling from my side. I just stared upwards, trying not to let the pain distract me.

"How she doing?" Emma's class had just ended and she had come up to stand beside Logan.

"Kid's got talent. This is the fifth scenario we've put her through. Scott decided to jump a few levels up, to see if she could handle it. Her mission is to get herself out of this conscious by any means necessary." He jerked his head to where they both could see Alex dodging various objects that a mutant was throwing.

A car clipped Alex's shoulder and Emma felt a sharp pain in her side. She frowned. Alex's red mist finally appeared, surrounding her. The mutant continued to throw everything he could reach at her.

Alex caught the baseball he threw and it blew up in her hands. Emma felt another sympathetic pain in her own hands.

"Piss off!" Alex roared, running at the mutant, her horns lowered. The projection knew it was in danger and ran, but not quickly enough to avoid being impaled on Alex's small horns. It was just enough to cause it to stop. Her spikes suddenly appeared through the mutant's chest. When she dropped him, there was fake blood running down her face and her spikes were red. They were gone within a few seconds. Another mutant came up from behind Alex, one far more powerful.

"Hello child." Emma's eyebrows rose. Magneto was hovering in the air, his battle costume carefully in place. He was about twenty feet from Alex.

"What do you want?" Alex snapped.

"You are a powerful mutant. It is your obligation to mutant kind to help us to take our rightful place." Logan punched Scott in the shoulder.

"You said a few levels, not seven." Logan growled. Scott just ignored him.

"Fuck off. I don't have to do anything." A sign was ripped from the ground and belted towards Alex. She barely managed to get aside.

"Imagine yourself in a place where you needn't fear walking down the street. You could help achieve that dream." Magneto was smiling. Two more signs began to lift into the air.

"Piss off, bastard. I won't be able to do that, because of what I am. I would rather live to at least see the sun rise a few more times." Alex snapped in reply. The two signs acted as javelins, and she managed again to dodge them, but not the car that Magneto threw at her. She fell and didn't get up for a while.

"She did pretty good." Scott said, leaning back. None of the other students ever lasted to this point.

"Scott, she's still conscious." Henry murmured as Alex got back up. Emma felt an ache spread throughout her body and she had to sit down.

"What!" he shot back to the controls.

There was a large amount of bleeping at Henry's station. His hands flitted across the panel. "Scott we have to stop, now!"

"You know the rules, not until she is unconscious."

"No, Scott, we have to stop. Something's wrong." Henry looked worried.

"Just a bit longer." He murmured. Henry was about to say more when Alex said something.

"Fine." Just a simple word, but it was filled with so much. Alex burst into flames. She tilted her head back and roared. Her spikes and horns became a vivid red and there were streaks across her skin, thin lines that ran on her face and arms. Emma imagined that should they be able to see any other of Alex's skin, it would be the same.

Alex picked up a car and threw it at Magneto. Magneto deflected it carelessly to the side. "I can't be stopped. Just give up."

"Just leave me alone!" Alex's short hair lifted, waving in the air. She crossed her arms. "All I want is to be left alone!" when Alex flung her arms out to her sides, twin crescents of red energy shot out. Both hit Magneto and caused him to fall from the air, torn apart.

A mob of people spilled from the buildings and ran at her.

"Scott, turn it off! Now!" Henry shouted.

The flames kept them at bay, but they several were mutants and used their powers on her. Finally, they all exploded into flames, one by one, and Emma felt very faint.

"Scott, turn it off! She is in pain, a lot of pain!" Logan grabbed Emma as she began to fall over.

"I'm trying!" He snapped. Finally, Jean moved him aside and turned the main power off, leaving only the lights in the danger room on.

There was a surprising amount of blood on the floor. Since it didn't disappear when the people did, they could assume it was real.

"Oh shit." Scott swore. Jean glared at her husband.

"Listen to Henry Scott, he's here for a reason!"

"That was fun." The voice startled them. The flames were gone, but the alterations to Alex were still there. Her eyes were a violent red. "I wanna play some more. I don't get much chance to play."

"Shit." Henry mumbled.

"What?'

"It seems that was too much for her." He murmured. "She's stuck."

"What do you mean by stuck?" Logan snarled.

"It's like some secondary forms. You can get stuck in them if you don't know how to use them." Alex grinned at them. "Come on, if you're gonna talk all day, can you at least turn on the simulation so I can play some more?"

"Enhanced hearing, just what we need." Henry muttered.

"Henry." Jean murmured.

"Her primary mutation is that." He gestured to Alex, who was still looking up at them patiently. "All her mutations are in full effect now."

"What do you mean all?"

"As in everything that was mutated because of her primary mutation, is full blown right now. Super strength, enhanced senses, her energy boost, the flames. I doubt that Logan would be able to overpower her right now."

"He's right. Wanna come down and try anyway Wolvy?" There was a mocking tone to Alex's voice.

"Apparently it lowers her inhibitions too." Henry said.

"I think that's just because she's exhausted." Jean stated.

"Fine, pretend I'm not part of the conversation." Emma felt those eyes search her out. "I still don't get it though. Why you? I mean, I could have waited, but why you? It's not like you care. Oh wait, that's presuming too much, I'm sorry." Alex was obviously faking the apologetic stance.

"How do we get this form to shift back to her normal form?" Scott asked.

"I don't know. Usually a feeling of safety causes the untrained to release their form." Henry stated.

"As if I could feel safe here." Alex's voice lost its sarcastic edge. It was quietly said.

"Alex?" Henry said. She simply turned and sat down on the ground, leaning back on her hands.

You know, Fate is such a bitch. Emma could tell no one else heard the telepathic voice. I always seem to chase after things I can't have. Acceptance and love. Who'd have thought that, here, in a mutant school, I couldn't be accepted? Emma heard the mental sigh. I should just leave. It was then Emma realised that Alex wasn't speaking to her.

Alex? I'm here for you. Emma whispered.

Get out of my head Ms Frost. It's not polite to eavesdrop. Emma felt a throb of pain in those words and saw Alex rub her side. Blood dripped onto the floor. Shit this hurts.

Alex, talk to me. Emma asked.

Did you know dreamwalkers bond to two people in their lifetime? Telepathically I mean. One is a parent and the other is to their… well, I guess in my case it would be appropriate to say mate. Do you know what it feels like to know that your bond will never love you, that you will never be able to kiss her? Do you know what that does to me? I can't sleep, cause I know I will dream about what I want to happen and then I know I wouldn't wake, cause I would prefer that reality to this one.

You're bonded? Emma couldn't help but ask. She heard a bitter mental laugh.

It's not something I can control. The person I bonded to doesn't even know it exists, let alone what it means. I just know… I'll be alone forever now. She whispered.

Why not just move onto someone else?

Because of my powers. If I had been just a dreamwalker, I could just ignore it and become involved with other people. But because of my demon powers, that's not an option. Demons are surprisingly loyal to their mates. That's why you rarely hear of them being in love or attached to someone. Alex screamed mentally and physically when she pulled her hand away from her side.

Alex, I'll always protect you. You don't have to be strong. Emma murmured. And suddenly, Alex was gone, collapsed on the floor down below, normal once again.


	9. Chapter 9

Alex, wake up, please. I couldn't help but stir at the pleading tone. There was a desperate need in it that I couldn't refuse. Don't you dare die on me! there was pain in her voice and I immediately sought out her mind, reaching to comfort her automatically.

I'm right here, sweetling, and I'm not about to go anywhere. I whispered to her, mind to mind. When I felt her sudden shock and withdrawal, I realised what I had done. I abruptly jerked away and tried to seal off the link.

I opened my eyes and fell off the bed I was laying on in the same moment, trying to find an escape from the question I knew would come. I found myself, to my profound astonishment, in a bedroom I didn't recognise. The furniture I that I could see was good quality, a modern style using metal rather than wood. The walls were an ivory white, contrasting just enough with the rest of the stark whiteness of the room. It was a beautiful room.

"Alex, if you do not get back into bed this instance, I'll lock you into the med lab!" I heard Henry snap. I couldn't help but smile at his tone. I saw him appear around the edge of the bed, followed quickly by Emma and Jean. I winced at the expression on Emma's face. It was a mix of shock and something I couldn't readily identify.

"Sorry, I guess I wasn't fully awake." I gave him a week smile as I used the wall to get to my feet. Henry helped me back into the bed.

"Take it easy, that bullet wound isn't fully healed, even with your apparent ability to heal so quickly." Henry said softly. "You should have told us that you got shot in the first round.

"It didn't seem that bad." I mumbled.

"Well, it wouldn't have been, if you'd told us about it." Henry admonished.

"Sorry."

"You take it easy. I'll be looking in on you later. I'll leave you to Jean and Emma's hands." Henry checked my heartbeat before he left. "Try to relax." I heard him say before the door closed.

"How you feeling?" Jean said softly.

"A bit sore." I admitted. I wasn't feeling too bad, just a slight pain in my side. I glanced at Emma and saw that her face was totally devoid of emotion. I sighed. I had really signed myself up for a hopeless cause.

"You did very well considering you don't actively know how to control your powers. You got farther than any new mutant I know, and you would give some of the trained mutants a run for your money." Jean said. "I'm surprised you were able to switch forms at all."

"I don't like shifting." I whispered. "I hate what it means, being driven to the point of insanity, to the point of being demonic." I raised my eyes to meet Jean's. "I don't like becoming what I truly am."

"I know." Jean leaned out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, but I shrunk away. She sighed. "I have to get to my class. If you need anything, I'm just a few minutes away." She got up and headed out the door. "I'll get your homework later." I couldn't help but smile at her teasing tone.

But then, I met Emma's eyes and it slipped from my lips. I turned my eyes away, and tried to hide, curling up to avoid her eyes. I couldn't meet her eyes. She knew now.

"Alex." Her voice was soft and demanding, forcing me to look up when she sat on the edge of the bed. "You're bonded to me aren't you?" I could only nod miserably. "Are you sure?

"I can't mistake it." I shot her a weak smile. "If you look, you'll sense it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Gentle fingers lifted my chin and Emma tucked a strand of my short hair behind my horns.

"I know it wasn't...I hope you realise that I can't feel that way about you." I drew away from her touch.

"I know. That's why it hurts so much. But I understand it. I should've resisted its formation, but I was so tired and alone…" I closed my eyes. "I'm sorry Emma, but it's unbreakable. Only if I die will it go away. I don't know how it will affect you, just that it will." I felt a tear slip from my eye. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright Alex. Even if I can't be what you want and need, I am still here for you." I was drawn into Emma's arms, and I wept bitterly at the cards I was dealt. Emma rubbed my back soothingly, trying to calm me. I let her, feeling as if this would be the last time I could ever truly call my heart whole. "I'll always be here as a friend." My heart shattered.

* * *

There was a knock on the door and the girl I saved poked her head in. "Hey, would you like some company?" I smiled and waved her in. Henry had moved me to my room to finish recovering. He still wouldn't let me get out of bed yet.

"Sure. It's boring in here, even with homework. I finished it hours ago." She grabbed my chair and dragged it over to sit next to me. "How you doing?"

"Still a bit shaken about Zack getting into my room the other night." She smiled at me. "Thank you, for saving me. I'm sorry if it got you in trouble."

"Hey no problem. I'm Alex by the way. I don't think I caught your name."

"I'm Margaret, but I prefer Maggie. I can control and breathe water. I'm not very good at controlling my powers yet though."

"Better than me. I have complete control over my dreamwalking, but I can't control my other powers much. It comes out whenever it feels like." I leaned back against the mound of pillows.

"Really? You seemed very much in control of them when you saved me." Maggie said. She was nearly quivering with happiness.

"Luck. Pure luck. I am just lucky my instincts include my powers." I looked at her. "Shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"Erm… I should be… but I'm not very good at working with wood… so I just skip it whenever I can. I don't know why I decided to take it." Maggie shook her head.

"I know what you mean. I hate any shop classes, though that's cause I dislike the teacher, and if it weren't for the boredom, I would skip too."

"You gonna graduate this year?"

"That's my goal. I want out of here."

"Really? Why? I love it here it's so safe and understanding." Maggie stated, wrinkling her brow in confusion.

"Cause outside here, people won't call me demon. I'm not sure what I want to do, but I figured a night job would help me avoid most questions." I smiled. "Maybe I'll be an accountant or something."

"But accounting is so dull!" She snorted. I heard a distant bell ring. "Crap I have to go, I have English with Mrs Summers. Talk to you another time." I smiled and waved at her as she headed for her class.

Maybe it wasn't as bad as my last school.

* * *

Emma looked out the window, taking in the sunshine. Lunchtime was a welcome relief for once. The quints were much more trying than usual. She sighed and tried to turn the thoughts away from their prying questions.

She saw Alex under a tree, laughing at something Maggie said. Her face was much softer, happier now, than it had been for the first while. Maggie had introduced Alex to her friends, and she had quickly become part of the group, small though it was. The six of them were constantly found under that tree, laughing at each others jokes.

And not for the first time, Emma felt a slight twinge of envy. Her team mates would never learn to accept her enough to do that. Never look past the exterior to see the heart that beat within.

Sometimes, late at night, she would reach for Alex through the bond, just to see if she was alright. And no matter how many times she went, she was always welcomed within Alex's mind, surrounded by total acceptance. No matter how many times she went, she was always welcomed back.

As a friend, Alex never offered more. She respected Emma enough to keep the boundaries set before her. She never brought up the pain that Emma had felt in her dreams once.

She felt a mental touch and lowered her shields.

Emma, I was having problems with the chapter we discussed in class, I'm not really understanding it. Could you help me out? Alex's voice seemed to coincide with her thoughts eerily.

Shall I meet you in library after dinner? Emma replied. She felt Alex's acceptance.

Thanks Emma. She whispered. And she was gone once again.

* * *

"I am so tired…" I whispered to myself. Maggie overheard.

"You look tired. You've been sleeping properly right?" She glared at me and I held up my hands.

"I promise I have. I am kept under surveillance anyway, remember? No, I've been getting good sleep, I just… am so tired." I rubbed my eyes.

"You should tell Mr McCoy at your appointment. Don't you have one later today?" Maggie smiled.

"Yes. He is determined to make me squirm, I swear! He makes more appointments for me than anyone else." I grinned at her. "I'll see you later. Have fun in shop!"

"Like that's ever fun!" Maggie retorted before slipping off to head to the workshop. I headed for my appointment with Mr McCoy. He seemed to be keeping a closer tabs on me than usual, and part of me was wondering why.

He met me in the elevator, like he always did.

"How was your sleep? He asked. I grinned at him.

"Disrupted, I was having too much… fun to sleep." He gave me a stare and I had to laugh at him. "Sorry, you been asking that everyday this week. It's fine. A bit heavier than usual, but still fine."

"How you feeling?" he asked. He was staring at me intently, and I became wary.

"Exhausted, but fine. No urge to burst into flames lately." It had been two weeks since the danger room incident.

"I have the results of the tests I did yesterday, but I want to take another sample and quickly compare it to yesterday's sample, for comparison reasons." He sat me down and took out another needle.

"Okay…" I felt the pinch and soon he withdrew with a vial of my blood.

He was in his office for about ten minutes when he came out of it with the gravest look on his face. I immediately grew alarmed.

"Why do you look like you're about to tell me I'm gonna die?"

"You're twenty one." He said simply. I stared at him.

"What the hell you on? I'm seventeen. Soon to be eighteen, but still seventeen." I retorted. He sighed and sat down.

"Ordinarily I would agree with you, because this sort of thing is supposed to be impossible. But it's true. I ran tests all night to be sure. You're aging has sped up." His face lost its grave look, only to be replaced with a sad one.

"How?" I said slowly. He took out his DNA charts and I had to let out an exasperated sigh.

"The combination of your dreamwalking and your demon energy has a unique effect. Your second telepathic bond is changing you." I had been forced to tell him of its existence, much to mine and his profound embarrassment. He didn't know who it was just that it was an older person. I wondered if he knew that I was gay.

"From what I can gather from the information on dreamwalkers, your subconscious is trying to change you to try to make you a better match for your chosen." He gave me a serious look. "You're probably aging to the point of your bond."

"You can't be serious." I muttered under my breath.

"I wish I weren't. You are literally having years stolen from you. It's not too noticeable now, but in a few days, you'll start looking older as well. It's just a matter of time."

"So I'll be an adult in virtually everything by the end of the week?" I snarled. I shook my head. "No that is just not possible. There has to be another explanation!" I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to.

But even as I didn't want to believe it, I could feel that it was true. The exhaustion would be explained if I was physically changing and the dreams… I hate to admit it, but I never had those types of dreams and the level that I had them at was a bit embarrassing.

"I can check again, but I'm positive on this one Alex." He rested a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry." I shook my head.

"Hey, I'm an adult now. I have to deal with it like an adult right?" he didn't speak as we headed up the elevator. Really, there wasn't anything he could say. I think it would have been easier on both of us if he just said I was gonna die. At least then, it would be over and I wouldn't be living in torment.

At dinner, I barely struggled through it, eating what I could force down, but I only managed a few bites, everything tasting like washed cardboard. Maggie noticed my silence and tried to draw me into the conversation, but I simply shut down. I just wanted this to be over with.

I just wished I had thought to check that I wasn't early to my meeting with Emma.

I simply touched her mentally, giving her warning that I was coming. I blushed at what I felt. A brief glimpse into her mind had let me know she was far too busy to be disturbed. I hastily withdrew and changed the direction I was walking to head for the gates.

I hadn't really believed the whispers I had heard around the school. I didn't want to. I hated it when gossip was right.

I hated it more that it had been Scott. What was worse was the feeling that Emma preferred to be a distant second with him rather than even consider me.

I laughed bitterly at that.

The gates were locked up for the night, but that didn't stop me. They flew off their hinges, landing with a loud clatter a few feet away. Both pieces had been seriously dented. I turned onto the road and walked away, not turning back. It was just too much.

My mom once said that everything had its price. She was right. The price of existing was having everything taken from me.

She wanted me to be strong. I wondered as I walked out of sight of the school just how strong she thought I would need to be.

But for once, I would not let her down.

* * *

Still no sign of Alex. The gates were the only sign that she had left. They had been rather quickly fixed, as parents day had been coming. Now it was parents' day and some of the parents were on campus, being shown around by their children. Some were mutants themselves, but not many.

It was a rather brilliant day, the sun shining brightly lending to the happy atmosphere everyone seemed to have. Families were reunited for at least the time being. Emma saw many happy faces amongst the crowd. She couldn't help but respond to the overwhelming surge of emotions and smile herself.

She spotted a woman off to the side, her back turned to Emma. She seemed to be alone and was simply watching everyone around her. Emma reached out telepathically and but couldn't seem to find her in the mess of people here. She shrugged it off.

As she approached, she couldn't help but notice that the woman's backside was rather attractive. She was slender, with broad shoulders for a woman and slightly taller than Emma herself. Her blonde hair was a few inches long, styled to spike upward.

"Can I help you find anyone?" Emma said when she reached the woman's side. Grey eyes turned to meet her own and foot long horns rose from the woman's forehead. "Oh my god." Emma said under her breath.

Staring back at her was the demoness from Alex's dream.

She was so much more beautiful in reality than in the dreams, and much more attractive to Emma. She had to force herself to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Hello Emma." She stared into Emma's eyes. "I'm back."

"Alex?"

"It's me. Henry told me this would happen." Alex sighed and turned away. "I'm taking a guess and saying I'm about twenty eight now." She shot Emma an unreadable look. "Almost your age." There was bitterness in Alex's voice.

"How?"

"My powers apparently, a unique effect of having demon energies mingle with dreamwalking. I got to age rapidly." Alex's eyes were guarded, more so than Emma had ever seen. "I always seem to have the short end of the stick." She muttered before turning away. "Stay away from me Emma. I can't handle people right now. I'm only here cause I promised Maggie I'd meet her folks."

And Alex was gone. And Emma realised what was missing. That automatic trust was gone, the happiness she always felt radiate off Alex when she was near, and it was gone, replaced with a void that Emma hadn't really felt before.

"Maggie, sorry I'm late." Emma heard Alex say.

"And you are?" Emma winced. Maggie obviously didn't see Alex under her new appearance.

"I'm Alex, a fellow student here." Alex extended her hand to Maggie's father.

"Aren't you rather old to be a student here?" He said.

"My powers came in rather late and developed some unusual side effects, such as my appearance. I am only two years older than your daughter." Alex was using a pleasant, diplomatic tone.

"We've got to go Alex. We are meeting up with Karen's family in the cafeteria." Maggie dragged her parent's away, heading in that direction. But Emma could see that Alex knew it was just a reason to leave, leaving her alone once more.

"Fine." Alex said, just loud enough for Emma to hear. She headed to the student dorm, disappearing into the busy building.

When Alex didn't appear after a few minutes, Emma slipped past the people at the door and headed for Alex's room. The door was partially open. She found Alex draped across her chair, a cool expression on her face.

"Amazing what rapid growth effects isn't it? In the space of a few moments, I lost all my friends here." Alex didn't really have anything in her voice to indicate she was bitter about it.

"What about the others you hung out with? Not all of them will care that you look like an adult." Emma responded, taking a seat on the bed. Alex just gave her a condescending look.

"Two are homophobic and are always uncomfortable around me, one could care less, and the last distinctly dislikes me. The only reason they accepted me was because of Maggie. Now that she is uncomfortable around me, I will no longer be welcome." She developed a small smile, full of bitterness. "I'm right back at square two, the outcast phase."

"You're not alone." Emma reached forward to give a reassuring pat to Alex, only to have Alex withdraw from her touch.

"Don't." The first hint of pain was in that small word. She looked up at Emma, red swirling around her grey irises. "Everything is different now. I am alone."

"You don't trust me anymore." Emma said. There was something in her voice that caused Alex to automatically respond.

"I don't trust myself." Alex sighed. "Since I am obviously gonna be made a guinea pig later or tomorrow, I need to get some rest." A clear dismissal. As Emma headed out, she wondered what had happened for Alex to become so distant.

* * *

_"Emma…" I moaned. I felt her lips curl into a smile. _

_"I love you." Those words were the ones I had wished to hear for so long, so very long. I felt tears of joy slip from my eyes as I brought her lips forward to meet mine, trying to express what I felt with the gentlest touch._

_"I love you so much Emma." I whispered. Her shields lowered and I could feel every ounce of love she felt for me, and I smiled once again and brought our lips forward to meet each other._

I tore myself from the dream, sitting bolt upright. I was breathing heavily and I wiped the sweat from my brow. It was that dream again.

I wished with all my heart I could just stay there and not come back out, but I couldn't lie to myself that much. I wouldn't be able to believe that it was my world, not when I knew Emma was involved with… I couldn't suppress the shudder.

My breaths gradually deepened and I slowly cooled down. I went to my window and opened it. Luckily for me, there was a cool breeze that flowed past me, making me feel cleansed as it swept past me. I lowered my tired head into my hands, just letting the fresh air calm me.

I felt tears slip from my eyes again, silently falling onto the window sill. I just allowed them to fall, not noticing that they stained to wood, and not caring that the mist flared up to cocoon me in comforting warmth.

Only a few more months. I thought softly to myself. Just a few more months. I had to hope that my strength would last that long.

_"Emma…" Alex moaned. Emma smiled into her lips._

_"I love you." Emma whispered to her, though she didn't know what brought her to say them. Emma saw tears slip from Alex's eyes and the joyful expression on her face. She gently pulled Emma forward into a loving kiss._

_"I love you so much Emma." She whispered. Emma lowered her shields and tried to make her feel the love she felt for her. She smiled, and it lit her face, Emma couldn't help but lean forward to kiss her again._

Emma felt herself waken suddenly. She quickly checked the room for anything that could have woken her. Her room was quiet and a quick probe proved that there was no one passing in the hall.

She leaned back, trying to sort out the mess her thoughts were in. She hadn't had a dream like that in years. Not one that was more about love than sex. It was different. It was far more enjoyable than she thought it would be. She smiled in recollection.

She frowned at something. If there wasn't anything that woke her up in the physical manner, it meant only one thing, something had woken her up mentally.

She went to her window and opened it, looking around. She was about to send out a mental probe when she saw a soft red mist in the window of a student's dorm.

It hadn't been her dream at all. She had been drawn into Alex's dream. She recalled what Alex had said, about wanting her dreams to be a reality, and because she would never be able to believe them, being unable to sleep. She hesitated for a moment, but a moment's decision was made when she remembered the love in the dream. She wasn't about to let Alex kill herself slowly.

She reached out to touch Alex's mind, gently embracing her. For a moment, Alex relaxed, and her pain eased, but only for a moment. Seconds later, Emma was mentally shoved away, and she felt Alex's pain increase.

Please, don't do that to me. Alex's voice was desperate. Please… just don't. Emma hated the pain that she heard in that voice, pain she had put there. I just had a dream, that's all. She could hear tears. Please… don't let me hope again. and Alex, gently, but firmly, shoved her away.

Emma stared at the red mist, which seemed to pulse, as though it was wracked with sobs as well. Though she couldn't sense Alex anymore, she just knew, instinctively, that she was in pain. Just as she knew she wouldn't be able to help. Her presence would just cause Alex more pain.

Emma bowed her head and a few stray tears landed on her hand.


	10. Chapter 10

"Sorry it's late, Mrs Summers." I murmured. She looked me over and accepted it without a word. I could feel her gaze on my back when I took my seat. I tried to smile, but I couldn't hold it up, so I just let it fall away and stared out the window.

"Who said the words, I think, therefore, I am?" I turned my head to the rest of the room. I couldn't believe no one knew.

"Rene Descartes." I said. Jean smiled. "He was a famous Frenchmen, known for his philosophy and his original thought." I said, just loud enough for everyone to hear me.

"Very good." The lesson moved on. Some of the others gave me odd glances, just a considering expression on their faces. I returned each of their stares, until they looked away uncomfortably. No one would dominate me.

"Fuck." I swore softly, slamming my fist into the table slightly. It caused the rest of the room to jump and I realized that the discussion had ended and everyone was working quietly.

"Alex, I want to talk to you, now." She sounded stern and I grabbed my books as I went out the door, waiting just beside for her to appear.

It took her a few minutes, but she did come out. She gave me a searching look, like she was trying to find my soul, only to find nothing in my stare. No one could dominate me. No one.

"Damn it!" I forced myself to stop staring at her and turned my glare to the ceiling. I felt like hitting something just then.

"Language Alex." Jean commented. "Are you alright? You seem…"

"Distant? Cold? Arrogant? Haughty? Pick one, I have more." I sighed internally at the harsh tones.

"Lost." I dragged my gaze to hers, just for a moment.

"I am not lost." I growled, advancing slowly. I jerked back when I realised what I was doing. "Sorry, just ignore I did that."

"Alex, what is going on?" She asked me softly. I sighed as I debated whether or not to tell her.

"It's difficult to control it." She shot me a questioning look. "You know about telepathic bonds right? Well, I have one. That's why I aged, but it didn't change anything. My…" I stopped myself from saying it. "The person I bonded to isn't interested. When I held a younger body, it wasn't hard, I could submit, but I can't now. I can't accept any form of dominance. Think of a loner alpha wolf. Once they find their mate, they can submit, but if they are without, they can't, they are indomitable."

"Your instincts are rising in you then." Jean simplified. I nodded. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You're not bad, you're very good about not dominating your students. I am not looking forward to some of my other classes though." I tried to smile at her. "What would you do if the one you loved didn't love you back?"

"I would be lost." She rested a hand on my shoulder. "I know you are adjusting. Just relax. Sometimes it just takes time." She pulled me into a reassuring hug. "If they can't see how special you are, then they are blind. I see it. And I hope that you don't lose who you are to it."

"I just hope to get through the next few months." I said. "I'm not staying after I graduate." She understood and she wouldn't tell a soul.

"I wish you would stay. We're alike, you and I. You struggle to control a demon and I struggle to control the Phoenix. If nothing else, I would like to keep in contact with you." She rested a hand on my shoulder. "You don't have to be strong all the time you know. Some of the mutants would like to be your friend." She went back into the classroom, leaving me to think. I sighed and headed for my room so I could grab my other textbooks.

The day passed without me paying much attention. My mind was elsewhere and although I automatically glared at various people, I made no open displays of dominance. I just passively went through the day, sorting through my thoughts, trying to make sense of everything.

I found myself in shop class before I knew it and I made myself focus on the tasks at hand. As much as I would rather have been elsewhere, letting my mind drift here would cost me a limb.

Scott wove through the classroom, helping some of the students, suggesting things to others, generally trying to be helpful all around. I was using my spikes to carefully remove a flake of wood from the siding of my box.

"You'll ruin your work you know." A voice said as a shadow fell across my wood, blocking my light. I gritted my teeth and tried to be polite.

"Please move, you're in my light." I paused in my work, waiting for him to move. He obliged me and shuffled a foot out of the light.

"You're going against the grain. You'll tear off bits of the wood if you continue to use your spikes." He insisted.

"Its fine, Scott. I prefer to use my spikes for fine work. The tools are too big for this kind of thing for my taste." I picked out another flake of wood.

"Here, let me show you how to properly use the tools then." He pulled the wood out of my grip and I stood up.

"Just let me do it my own way." I snapped at him, glaring at him.

"Your way is the stupid way." He retorted. From the surprised look on his face, he'd obviously not thought before he spoke. He tried to fix his mistake. "I'll show you how to use the tools, it would make it easier."

"Just give me my box and I'll do it my way." I said softly.

"Alex, listen to me, I am your teacher, I know wood better than you. So you will listen!" he raised his voice slightly.

"I will not listen to a male, certainly not one so narrow-minded like you!" I replied, glaring at him. I started to go towards him. "Give it back."

"I am not narrow-minded, I am not about to let a kid tell me that she knows better." I roared at him.

"I am not a child anymore!" I bared my teeth at him and growled loudly. "Just give me back my damned wood!"

"It's not yours. Nothing here is. Everything you own is the schools." There was fear in his eyes a moment later.

"I bow to no one! Not you, not Logan, not anyone. You will submit." My steps became more pronounced, much more carefully placed. I lowered my head just a bit, bringing the tips of my horns into play. He stared at me, never wavering his gaze behind the ruby lenses.

"Somebody, get help!" I heard someone shout, but it seemed far away. All that mattered was the battle between me and Scott. I would prove myself to my mate, even if it meant challenging her chosen.

"What happened?" I heard a feminine voice say. I didn't hear the reply. Everything faded but Scott and his challenge. I could not lose to this male. I would not lose.

"Scott, drop your gaze to the ground!" The command came just as I darted forward to attack him, letting out a peal of rage at his insolence. I grabbed him and lifted him up into the air, preparing to slam him into the wall.

"Don't let it control you Alex!" I snarled at Scott, revealing all my teeth.

I was flung backwards, my grip broken. I slammed against the opposite wall, my head cracking against the stone of the building. I fell into an undignified heap on the floor. I looked around, growling slightly.

When I saw the look of absolute fear on the other students faces, I regained my sanity. My eyes frantically sought out Scott and I found the two telepaths blocking my way. Jean was helping him regain his feet while Emma was glaring at me. There was anger in her eyes and I realised how much I'd screwed up.

I felt the pressure on my every limb, keeping me in place. I knew it was Emma's power, rather than Jean's, because it was not like struggling against something, it was like I wasn't even in control of my own body.

"I can't believe it Alex. I thought better of you." Her eyes were cold. "Get out of my sight. You sicken me." I felt myself get up and start to head to the door. I sealed her from my mind, refusing to let her use my bond to her for such a tainted use.

I went to one corner of the room, picking up the box that had caused the fuss in first place. There was a small scratch on the side, but was all. It escaped with no lasting damage. I smoothed the scratch on it and placed it onto the table.

"It wasn't finished, but it will have to do." I looked at Emma, anger making her distant. Jean was right, I was lost, and I would never find my way. I looked at Jean and she nodded. She knew who the box was for. I lifted its lid and placed in it two pieces of ivory. I closed it gently, hearing it close with a finality that I never wanted to face.

I strode out of the room, never looking back, knowing to them, I looked confident. But I didn't feel that confidence, just an utter despair that threatened to overwhelm my defences. I just went straight to my room and closed the door behind me. I melted the doorknob, sealing me into the room. There, I allowed myself to collapse. I had won the battle of wits, but in the end, he won. He would always be first.

I let myself sink into the oblivion that was my dreams, wiped clean of my humanity, wiped clean of anything painful.

I fell directly into darkness. I fell towards the true gates of hell.

* * *

"Emma, you came down on her too hard." Emma turned to glare at Jean. "She's been having problems with her demonic side. Apparently, her natural instincts have hierarchal tendencies. When she was in her younger body, she could obey, because she was still considered young. Now, her demon side is demanding she take her proper place." Jean explained softly. Scott was stunned and never heard a word.

"Why on earth would she try to kill Scott though?" Emma snapped.

"She didn't try to kill him." Jean replied. "If she wanted to kill him, she could have." Jean shook Scott rousing him from his stupor.

"I really can put my foot in my mouth." Scott mumbled, still dazed. "I handled that badly." Jean ran her fingers through his hair.

"Yes, you did. Just think of it as you trying to challenge an alpha feral." Jean said.

"A loner feral alpha." He leaned forward, trying to regain some bearing before getting up to reassure the rest of the class he was alright.

"You really hurt her Emma." Jean said it softly, so just the two of them could hear. "At least before, she could be around you, absorb some comfort in being your friend." There was condemnation in Jean's eyes. "You just told someone who loves you with everything they are that they disgust you."

"She wouldn't have stopped." Emma growled.

"If you had asked, she would have." Jean replied, gently picking up the box Alex so carefully placed on the table. She traced the design on it. "So much time and effort went into this." She placed it in Emma's hands. "She wants you to have it." Jean followed the class outside into the sun.

Emma caressed the carved lid, tracing the seeming flames. Each was carefully carved into the light wood, melting into each other, forming a circle that spiralled outward. In the blank space of the center, there was a small rune, one Emma instantly recognised. She gingerly opened it.

Inside were two ivory rings, paler than any ivory Emma remembered ever seeing. Both were plain, with no design to them. Just two simple ivory bands.

She picked one up, putting the box down on the table. The surface of the ring was smooth, almost like polished stone. But unlike any ivory or stone, it gave off a faint heat.

She placed the ring back in the box and cursed her insensitivity. On the underside of the lid, there was a line, roughly sketched into the wood.

My love, may you find the love you seek.

She just stared at that line, so full of sacrifice, and wished that she could disappear.

* * *

"Leave the lassie be." The elderly devil glared at the small fire drakes and they scattered. "No human should be here." He said as they shot out of sight.

"I see no human here." I replied. He grinned when the illusion faded away.

"Having fun fooling the littles?" he asked, laughing.

"Yes, actually. It's funny to hear them squeal." I snickered.

"You're an odd mistress, I'll give you that." He poked my side and I swiped at him playfully. "So, where's your mate?" His eyes showed he was teasing me, so I decided to play along.

I was going to deny it and the mope about it, but… for some reason, something wanted to be remembered. I couldn't seem to recall it clearly I grew thoughtful and frowned.

"I don't know… I'm lost and can't find my way to her…" I mumbled, not quite sure why I was saying that.

"Lass?"

"I have to be strong." I said much more clearly, though why I don't know.

"You okay? You didn't eat one of the buggers did ya?" he asked, concern marring his brow. I pulled his tail.

"I'm not that stupid. I don't know why I said that. Come on, the demoness wanted to talk to me." He chuckled and I shoved him into the lava in retaliation. He sputtered and grumbled while I laughed at him.

* * *

"Doors melted. I mean melted. Even the window's lock is warped to the point you can't move it even a bit. Wanna bet the air vent is sealed too?" A bunch of girls giggled.

"Well, who cares? Who wants a freak hanging around attacking people anyway? Wonder how the Professor will react though, he is so determined to help everyone, even this one."

"I don't know. Maybe he'll get some brimstone sent in and get red light bulbs to make her feel at home." They burst into giggles again as they turned around the corner.

Emma leaned her head against the wall. She didn't want to imagine the treatment Alex received out of sight of the teachers. If that was an indication, it had gotten pretty bad. She went up to the room that contained Alex. Molten metal beads had hardened into the seam of the door. The only way to get in would be to break in. Even Charles would be reluctant to break the door down, for fear of what he might find waiting.

Emma caressed the door, trying not to think, an ache in her heart.

* * *

"Mistress?" the temptation demon flicked her raven locks over her shoulder, standing at a respectful distance.

"I'm sorry, Little One. I can't help you." I couldn't. There was no attraction, not even the faintest glimmering of it.

"Please Mistress? I can learn to be what you need." I shook my head. As much as I would like to, just to calm the part of me that wondered why I refused all, it would not be fair.

"No. I would like to help you, but I can't." I stepped forward to tousle her hair. "I can find someone else though. Demons I know to be gentle." I felt her smile.

"Thank you Mistress! Thank you!" she impulsively hugged me, jumping up and down. "You're so special. I hope whoever your bond is realizes that." She flew off.

"I just wish I knew who it was." I muttered under my breath, heading to the plateau so I could watch.

_"I'm sorry Alex." _ I turned my head, trying to find the source of the voice. I could have sworn the last demon who had known my name had faded from memory.

"This is starting to make me paranoid." I growled to myself, sitting down on the ledge. The demons milled around on the lower ledges, with youngsters dancing in the river of flame.

I smiled, just letting myself embrace the proud feeling in my gut. It had gone from a wild death trap to a community. Sure there were still lots of fights, but now, at least no one was killed. No one hurt anymore.

"Except me." I mumbled resting my head against me knees. A familiar ache in my chest leeched the feeling of pride away from me, until all I felt was alone.

* * *

Emma couldn't do it. She just couldn't. She pulled back from what she was doing and shook her mental head.

I can't do it anymore. I'm sorry Scott, it just feels… wrong. She said to him. She felt his confusion.

Emma? But… why? What have I done wrong? Scott said plaintively. Emma shook her head at him.

I won't do this to you or myself. she gestured to her mental wardrobe. I have to look like her in order for you to let me touch you. She gave him a last hug. You know, talk to her. She would understand, if you gave her a chance.

So it's over? He asked. He didn't seem surprised.

Yes, it's over. Emma confirmed.

I hope you find happiness Emma. I really do. Emma left him after brushing her mental lips against his one last time.

"So do I." she said aloud to herself. "So do I."

* * *

"Fuck!" I swore as I shook my hand out. I was slow today. He actually managed to smack my knuckles. A thin strand of blood appeared. "Damn it!" I tried to regain feeling in it by shaking it.

"Mistress?" the slow hulk said, his stone limbs reaching out to stop me mid motion. "I'm sorry." I waved his apology off.

"You did good, Torrent. I wasn't paying attention, I was letting my mind wander. It's not your fault. I want to be alone though." He bowed slowly before leaving, his steps loud thumps as he made his way to the lower levels.

The drop of blood slipped from my fingers and splattered on the ground, hissing in the heat. I stared at it, feeling as though I should be remembering something. But I couldn't remember. I felt an intense feeling of loneliness. I let myself scream, echoing across the cavern.

No one came to check. I lowered my head stood stock still, trying to regain my composure. No one could see me. My mind wandered far, wondering, once again, why I was alone.

* * *

Emma leaned her head against the doorway, feeling the urge to break it, but unwilling to break the seal that Alex had created to seal herself from the world. Emma was worried though. It had been three days since then and there hadn't been a sound from the room.

Emma let her hand run down the wood. "Please, don't leave me alone." She said to the room. No indication that there was anyone in the room at all, just the knowledge of her in the room

She moved away, heading down the darkened halls. Once in her room, she collapsed onto her bed, trying to force herself into sleep, hoping that the nightmares wouldn't come tonight.

* * *

"Human! It's a human! Run for you lives!" My head snapped into the direction of the shout. I could already see demons fleeing the area. I narrowed my eyes. It was too far for me to see, even with my sharp vision. I leapt off the plateau, falling to the plains below.

The ground shattered under my weight, but I was already charging in the direction everyone else hurried away from. A few gave me looks of wonderment, but the fighting demons gave me grateful looks. That sped me to greater speeds and with the space of a few minutes, I was faced with the human.

She was dressed in white, all white. Her blonde hair brushed her slim shoulders and her eyes were a pretty blue. There were a few brave demons still there, surrounding her. They shot me nervous glances.

"Human. You enter my realm. What business do you have here?" I growled, circling her carefully.

"Mistress?"

"Go, the fire drakes will need guidance." The others fled. "I repeat this only once. What are you doing here?"

She stared at me, but I didn't feel the urge to make her submit. I simply stared back at her, waiting for an answer.

"Alex?" She whispered. I gave her a funny look.

"How do you know my name?" I replied. I came forward, searching her for an ounce of familiarity. But like those instances, they were just beyond my grasp.

"You've sealed off your memories." There was pain in her voice. "You don't remember." There were tears in the human's eyes.

"Hey, it's okay." I covered the distance that separated us and held her as she cried. "It will all be alright, in the end. I promise. I will make it so." I pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. "I will make it so." I felt strangely protective of the human. I nuzzled her, feeling strangely close to her. "You are welcome in my realm." I caressed her face.

"I miss you." She whispered, just as she disappeared. I smiled and took a deep breath in, inhaling her scent.

"And I, will miss you, human." I raised my eyes upwards and let out a bellowing roar. It rang into the cavern, happiness in its tone.

* * *

"Break it." Emma snapped at Logan. He looked hesitant and glanced at the doorway. For once, he looked nervous.

"I don't know, doesn't seem like a good idea." Logan said softly, keeping their conversation private.

"She won't attack you. This isn't her reality anymore." Emma snapped. "She is living in her dreams now." Logan looked at the door then at Emma before he shrugged.

"Okay." He turned to the door and rammed his fist through the door. The wood splintered. He used his claws to tear the rest of the door apart. With a final blow, the door was ripped off its hinges and light filtered into the dark room.

Emma slipped past Logan, quietly entering the room without a word.

It felt like no one was living there. The air was stale and the air humid. The light seemed to intrude on the darkness, driving it to the corners of the room.

Alex was lying on the floor, breathing evenly. She was curled slightly and asleep she still seemed older than she truly was. But for the only time outside the dream realms, she looked at peace.

Emma caressed her jaw line, just watching her for a few moments. Then, carefully, she gathered Alex into her arms and lifted her. She was surprised to notice that Alex weighted less than last time. She held her close, wishing that for all the world she could take it back.

She stepped into the hall. Logan hadn't entered and when he saw Alex, his face gained a worried expression. He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Alex's ear. He was frowning, unable to keep the concern from his face.

"You want me to take her?" He murmured. Emma nodded and he gently took her in his arms. She felt the loss of contact, but didn't mention it. "Don't beat yourself up about it. She wouldn't want you to." He murmured. "She loves you. She doesn't want you hurting." He whispered.

"I know." Emma said softly. She led the way to the med lab. Henry met them and immediately took charge. He got Logan to set Alex gently on the examining table and shooed the two of them out. Jean came down a few minutes later, her face worried.

Almost an hour later, the two of them came out, Henry with a helpless expression and Jean with a sad smile.

"She's fine. I don't know what's supporting her body, but she's living on it. We'll keep track of her condition, but unless something changes, I doubt that she'll revive. I can't do anything to help her, I'm sorry." Henry sat down rubbing his temples.

"We are assuming its mental issues that caused her to retreat into her mind." Jean murmured. Her eyes didn't spare Emma anything. Jean blamed her.

"She's in her dream world. She doesn't remember." Emma murmured. "She doesn't seem to want to remember." Henry waved the admission away.

"I heard about her bond. She was worried about the reaction of the other person to the changes. She mentioned something to me, I'm not sure what it meant. Something about her bond preferring second place with someone else than first place with her." Emma's eyes widened.

"Oh my god, that must have hurt so much. I'm surprised she didn't kill anyone." Jean said. "I understand why she was having a hard time controlling it now. She wanted to prove on an instinctive level to her mate that she could be better."

Emma didn't say a word. It sounded too much like the truth.

"I don't want her here in the med lab, it's not exactly private. She needs a room where she'll be comfortable." Henry murmured.

"There's a room near Emma's that's empty. It's not very big, but it would work." Logan commented. Jean shot him a glare and he shrugged. "Emma would be nearby and it's not far from anything. People could keep an eye on her."

Henry nodded. "I'll check up on her every other day or so." Logan picked up Alex gently and carried her into the elevator. The two telepaths followed. The doors closed and Jean rounded on her, her eyes blazing with the Phoenix.

"How could you Emma? Why would you hurt her that much? Being with someone else who holds you second to someone else rather than even consider being with her?" Jean gave her a disgusted look. "If you wanted to hurt her more, I don't know how you would do it."

"Jean, this was Alex's choice to retreat from here!" Logan growled. "She controls the dream reality, so she had to choose to be there. She chose to run rather than to fight."

"It was too much for her! She lost her mother and her old life, then all the shit with her powers on the frizz, her virtual isolation from the rest of the students, the bond, the loss of years on her life and then given no time to cope. Plus whatever is in her past. Why would she not run?"

"She still chose to Jean. It was her choice. No one is to blame." He said, shifting Alex so that her face was prominent. "She is an adult, even before she aged. She knows her choices." Nothing more was said, though Jean's accusations repeated in Emma's mind, backed by her own thoughts.

The room was just across from Emma's and though it was only a small bedroom with a suite, it was still usable, the plain furniture solid and still sound. Logan placed her on the bed and Jean tucked her in. Logan then gave Emma a small nod before extracting Jean from the room.

"I didn't know you knew. Never once did you show you knew. I understand why your temper was shorter with Scott. I know it won't make a difference, but, I'm sorry." She placed a kiss on Alex's forehead. "I'm sorry you suffered because of it." She tousled the short hair for a moment, and ran a finger along one horn. "I'll be here when you come back."


	11. Chapter 11

I smiled in anticipation. She said she would come and I could barely stand the moments until she came. I couldn't keep a grin from my face.

"_You sicken me." _ I blinked. Her voice and much too real to be fake. _"I thought more of you." _ I shivered. I remembered some things now, things I couldn't explain, but some of them were painful to remember. But at least it came slowly.

"She's here Mistress." The demon gently rested his wizened hand on my forearm. He smiled at me. "I'm glad you found your mate." I smiled in return.

"So am I." I replied. I headed for where I knew she would be.

She was there, like she promised she would be. Her light hair shone in the light and she was staring out across the cavern. I snuck up behind her, placing my hands on her shoulders. She only looked at me with an amused smile that I loved so much.

"Hello." She whispered.

"Hey. How are you today?" I asked her.

"Tired. Some problems with someone causing everyone problems. We'll probably need to take care of it soon." I rubbed her arm.

"You'll be careful?" I asked.

"Don't worry, I have the rest of the team watching out for me." She murmured.

"I don't like this Cyclops fellow. He doesn't seem very strong." Emma shot me another amused smile.

"You know, he and I were involved once." She commented. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Glad your taste improved then." I replied, nuzzling her neck.

"I am too." She was unusually serious when she said that. I searched her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, trying to figure it out. I reached out to touch her jaw.

"It's nothing."

_"Don't presume to know me enough to know my wants." _ I shook my head, trying to shake the thoughts away for the moment.

"It is something. Tell me." I turned her around to face me. "If something is bothering you, I want to know." She sighed.

"When are you going to wake up?" She whispered. I wasn't quite sure what she meant, but I knew she had to get this out. "When are you going to come back to me?"

"I'm just a little lost right now. I'll always find my way back to you, no matter what. I love you Emma, no matter where I am." I took the chance I had been hesitant to take before and kissed her carefully. She went stiff with shock for a moment, but a moment later, her hands wove into my hair and pulled me closer. She deepened the kiss automatically.

I felt her barriers lower and her mind welcome me. I could feel the love, the overpowering love that she felt towards me, and the underlying pain that went with it. I pulled away, to look into her blue eyes.

"I love you Emma Frost, and only you. You are my mate." I whispered. I think my wording surprised her, but the shields didn't snap back up like I thought they might.

I love you too Alex. I let the thought caress me. I can't be your mate.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I don't deserve you, I've caused you so much pain." She whispered aloud. I shook my head.

"You more than deserve me. And I know you never meant to cause me pain. It's not your fault I accidentally stumbled onto yours and Scott mental interlude." I kissed her again. I felt another flash of surprise.

"No one would accept me loving you." She whispered. I felt her doubt.

"I accept it and that is what matters. If they have a problem with it, I can always challenge them." I rested my forehead on hers.

"I'm so much older than you." She was running out of logical reasons and I laughed.

"Does that matter? I may not be as knowledgeable as you are, nor as wise, but physically, we are the same. I am willing to disregard that. Are you willing?"

"It's not fair to you." She mumbled.

"Emma, I think it would be worse if you wouldn't even give us a chance." I said softly. "I love you and that will never change. If you need time, I will wait for you. Always."

"Oh Alex." She kissed me swiftly. I love you. Don't leave me alone. She whispered.

Then I won't. I replied before she vanished.

I pondered how that went. It went better than I thought it would. I didn't think she would want to be mates with me. I had offers from other demons, but that was more a power issue. Emma was powerful by her own right.

She was everything I could wish for, no matter what I was remembering. Even with the pain at some of the things she said, I still loved her. Now if only I could remember where we had met before. I decided to contemplate it on the plateau, just staring idly across the cavern, just letting my thoughts wander on the subject.

I must have been there for hours, because I suddenly felt a sharp pain on my upper thigh. I gasped at the pain. A quick glance confirmed that it was not my own pain. It was travelling through my bond. I stood up, roaring angrily. After a few seconds, everything shattered and I was on a white plain.

_"I'm coming Emma!" I screamed._

I leapt to my feet, anger coursing through my veins. The room was unfamiliar, but I could smell Emma's scent. It was in the air and pretty recent. I sped into the corridor, remembering that I'd been here before. I slammed into the door to the outside, causing the lock to break.

It didn't take me long to figure out what direction Emma was in. I sped that way, not caring when what I was wearing started to tear away, not caring that I began to glow. I just headed to where I needed to go. For once in my life I would not fail them.

I would save her, if it meant rendering the world to ashes.

* * *

"Pathetic. I thought the X-men were the best. I've faced normal human children with more fight to them." The levitating mutant laughed, his smile unnaturally wide. "Although I admit, the prospect of being the one to take you down is appealing. Imagine the fame!" he raised his hands, lighting dancing on his fingertips. "The world will quake beneath my every step." The ground quivered in response.

"You bastard!" Logan shouted. He was quivering with barely suppressed rage, but he couldn't move, only his face was ice free. Jean was nearby, trying to protect Scott from drowning in the sphere of water that was surrounding the two of them. All of them were trapped by the various elements. Emma was trying to stay away from the flames, but her leg slowed her down. The only attack that had proved to have any effect was telepathy, she didn't shift to her diamond form.

"How the mighty have fallen!" he laughed again, sending another ripple of lighting through the air to dance around him. "I can even imagine the headlines "Elemental Mutant Slays X-men Team'. I'll have to buy several copies of that. They'll have to take several pictures to depict your death scenes." He was grinning, but it slipped off his face when he frowned, staring past them into the distance. The elements at his command wavered for a moment.

Birds were rising in the distance and trees were shaking, coming closer and closer. An unearthly roaring filled the air when something leapt from the bushes. The flames surrounding Emma were immediately extinguished.

"No one hurts my mate!" Red lines danced across every inch of Alex's skin. Whatever she had worn before only clung by the barest of threads, tatters of them everywhere. She was shielding Emma with her very body, if not her powers.

"You're new. I've never seen you before." He mused, circling around the two to get a better view. Alex placed herself between him and Emma the whole time. "What are you, fire elemental? You are no match for me. Though by the looks of it, you have a bit of feral in you too." A shot of lightning tried to strike Alex, but it was dispersed with a flaring of the red mists. "Impressive, little one."

"You will never hurt my mate. Submit!" Alex snarled. Her fangs were revealed and the elemental paused.

"Not a fire elemental, something else. Almost… demonic." He grinned and smiled. "You're Gordon's daughter! I thought I had gotten rid of that pesky power. Although I have to admit he was much, much weaker than you are."

All Alex did in response was stand up and growl.

"Time for you and your mate to die." He leaned forward. "She's a horrible person you know, she doesn't love you." Alex roared at that and he grinned. Lightning danced around them, striking near them, not close enough to hurt, but enough to toy with them. "She is nothing but a stupid little human, with a touch of power gained through money."

"Better than a self claimed celebrity." Logan hissed.

"Glad I'm not one then." The elemental shot him an amused look before returning to stare at Alex. "I watched as you father died at my feet. He asked me to spare you, and here you are, making my promise so hard to keep. Ah well, all's fair in love and war." Then he made his fatal mistake. He switched his gaze from Alex to Emma and using his powers, struck her.

"Emma!" Alex screamed. The lightning chain had purposefully avoided her, choosing instead to send Emma shooting across the ground. The world exploded into a wash of flames. When Alex turned her gaze back to the Elemental, there was no humanity left in them. "Did you like it when your uncle hit your mother? Did you like to hear her scream? To hear her tortured howls as she protected you from his fists? Stevie, have a cookie." Alex snarled.

"What… how… You can't be…" he whispered.

"Do you remember, that day, when you returned from school, to find her dead? She died, asking for nothing more but a chance to rest. Your father died that night, when he drank himself to death."

Absolute terror swept across his face and he lost his levitation and fell to the ground.

"No…" he mumbled, staring into the flames where shapes flinted past.

"He never cared and she died." Alex lowered her voice. "You are your uncle's son."

"No!"

"You kill because things aren't the way you want them. You are no better than him." Alex continued.

"Shut up!"

"No, you shut up!" Alex snarled. "I finally have my mate loving me and you try to steal her from me."

"I couldn't care less about that worthless telepath." He flicked a shard of ice at her and Emma screamed when it buried itself in her arm. Alex let out her own peal of pain. When she darted forward, it was too quick for anyone to see what she did. Jean had to look away as Alex lifted her head high, shaking the man who was impaled on her horns. She rammed her spikes through his chest and blood spilled onto her.

"I gave you peace." Alex said, dropping the body onto the ground. The flames died abruptly and Alex staggered for a moment. "Emma." She stumbled to where the telepath was kneeling. She melted the ice that was imbedded in her bicep. "I'm sorry I failed again." Alex picked up Emma and seared away the remaining water and ice, freeing the others. "Get us back… to the.. mansion." She was trembling. She kissed Emma's forehead tenderly, holding her close. She headed to the site that the blackbird was hidden. Logan quickly followed, though he made no effort to remove Emma from Alex.

"She has so much power." Scott whispered as Jean helped him up.

"She can barely control it Scott. Her demon powers are keyed to her emotions. Leave her be." Jean looked at Alex, growing smaller into the forest. "She needs time to adjust. At least now, she has stability."

"What do you mean?"

"Her own powers were working against her to lose control. Now that Emma has acknowledged the bond between them, she won't have to fight every waking moment not to beat everyone into submission." Jean smiled. "Just think of it as an alpha feral finding their mate. They always calm down after that."

"I almost pity Alex." Scott murmured. "She doesn't know what she's getting into with the White Queen."

"That's the thing Scott. In our dreams, we can't hide anything. Alex knows exactly what she's getting into and she loves everything about this." Jean kissed Scott's cheek. "Be happy for Emma. She has someone who loves her for everything she is. Not many can claim to have that." She followed the others, leaving Scott wondering, for just a moment, just how much Jean knew. He followed her, feeling guilty as hell.

I held her tighter, glad that she didn't even try to pull away. She was a comforting weight in my arms as I made my way to the blackbird. I had just known where it was. I wasn't quite sure whether it was the lingering scents or Emma's knowledge, but I just knew where it was.

It appeared in view when I slipped out of the trees into a small clearing. I could hear Logan just behind me, keeping a respectful distance, but remaining close at hand. He opened the hatch and I stole silently inside, feeling almost like an intruder on this plane.

I sat down and set Emma gently on my lap, holding her to me. I couldn't help but worry when she didn't flinch when I accidentally jarred her arm. It still bled, though not as profusely as before.

"Logan, help me." I whispered. He knew what I meant. In his hands, he already had bandages. We didn't really have time to clean the wound, it was more important to stop the bleeding. I doubted there'd be much to clean anyway. I just held Emma while he wrapped her leg and arm. There wasn't really much I could do otherwise. I had never bandaged anyone up before.

Logan sat near me when he finished. I gave him a tired sort of smile before I return my attention to Emma. Her breathing was calmer now.

My mind barely registered the arrival of Scott, much less anyone else. All I noticed was that the hatch closed and the blackbird lifted off, a bit shakily at first, but it quickly smoothed out.

We had just levelled out when Emma opened her eyes. They were confused for a moment, but when they regained clarity, they settled on me, searching my own eyes. I leaned forward to place a loving kiss on her forehead.

"Hey." I whispered softly.

"I'm glad you came." She whispered. A tired smile curled her lips just a little bit and she tucked herself closer to me.

"Told you I would find my way to you." I nuzzled her. "I'm not letting you go." I whispered.

"I wouldn't ask that of you." She stared at me for a moment, fear in the depths of her eyes. "Do you remember everything?" She asked. If I hadn't been close I wouldn't have been able to hear the cracking of her voice.

"I don't remember what my homework was, but yes, I do." She let her head fall and I knew she was withdrawing from me. "No, you don't!" I snarled softly. I gently forced her to look at me. "I am not letting you go, not for something like that. If you truly need it, then you have my forgiveness, but I don't see anything to forgive. Don't block me out." I leaned my forehead on hers. "I love you, and that is all that matters."

"Alex." She breathed my name and I shivered at the hidden tone I felt in it. Her hand gripped my shoulder gently. "I love you too. Don't ever doubt that." She whispered. She rested her head in the crook of my neck and I held her, glad that I could finally hold her in reality.

* * *

"She's so tired." Scott murmured. Henry nodded as he typed into his computer, keeping a careful eye on the surveillance system.

"They both should be. Emma's wounds, though superficial, caused her to lose a lot of blood. It will take her body a while to replace the blood she lost." Henry glanced at a pile of papers on his desk, shuffling through them till he found one he wanted. "I'm almost surprised it didn't kill her."

"Emma's blood loss was that severe?" Scott couldn't help but feel a stab of panic at the thought. But Henry just shook his head.

"Not Emma. I know she can handle it. No, I'm more worried about Alex right now." Henry spared a glance to the monitor that was watching the two women. Alex was still awake, caressing Emma's golden hair.

"Why?" Scott murmured. "She seems fine to me."

"She was in that coma for close to a month. And first thing she did was get up and run fifteen miles in less than ten minutes." Henry turned to face Scott. "I doubt that even Logan can pull off that. And from what Jean tells me, she manipulated her powers into submerging the elemental into a semi conscious state and used her demon flames to play out key parts of his life." Henry turned back to the monitor. "Her body isn't used to using her powers. She hasn't had a chance to use them."

"Meaning… what?" Scott said.

"It's like taking cannon ball and trying to shoot it with a pistol. It shouldn't be able to be done." Henry muttered.

"No, it can't." Scott replied. He stared at the two of them, not quite able to understand, but knowing it didn't matter.

* * *

"Get some sleep Alex." Emma murmured, her eyes closed. She smiled when she felt a gentle hand brush her hair from her face.

"Love you." Alex responded. There was the utmost confidence in the words, but Emma felt an echo of doubt. She opened her eyes.

Alex? She sent. She felt Alex immediately respond, switching to telepathic conversation.

I love you sweetheart. Never doubt that. Alex replied.

You don't think I do. Emma replied, feeling a little hurt. She felt automatic denial, and surprise in Alex.

No, I know you love me. Emma felt Alex slip into a doze before waking herself.

Just go to sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up. Emma said.

But will I be? Alex snapped. She dropped her gaze. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that.

No, Alex, it's alright. Emma pulled Alex into a hug. This time, I won't let you leave me alone. She kissed Alex gently, trying to convince her. If you doubt yourself, then trust in me. You will be here when you wake up.

Alex nodded and Emma felt her exhaustion seeping into every bit of Alex's body. She kissed Emma before she rested her head against a pillow.

"I'll never leave you, I promise." She whispered before closing her eyes and falling asleep. Her head lay on Emma's lap, her face looking towards Emma's. Her short hair fell in her eyes, and Emma brushed them away.

"Good night, Alex." She whispered, entwining her fingers with Alex's. Alex subconsciously squeezed her hand in reassurance. Emma closed her own eyes again and fell back asleep.

* * *

_"Where the hell am I?" Scott muttered, trying to find something in the endless white. Everything was white, the sky, the ground, everything but him. _

_"You're in a dream." He turned to find Jean looking around as well, taking in the stark whiteness. "I didn't know it looked like this." She said. They both heard something and began heading in the direction. They saw two people in the distance. As they got closer, the noise turned to music and the people were dancing._

"_Hello?" Scott called to the dancers. Alex smiled at the two of them, and Emma didn't even look up. She left her head in the crook of Alex's neck. "Are we interrupting something?" Scott murmured. _

_The air around them changed, until Alex released a small chuckle. Emma smiled and turned so she could see Scott. _

"_I may lack tact, but even I know better than to try something here when at the snap of my fingers," Alex snapped her fingers for emphasis and the world shifted to a empty ballroom, a stereo where the band would have been playing. "I can have any surrounding I wish." _

_Scott looked around, surprised despite himself at the shift. "Where are we?" He asked automatically. Jean smiled at him. _

"_This is the ballroom that Magneto used to have. I didn't know it was intact anymore." Jean replied for her._

"_I don't know if it is. I just like the room. I saw it somewhere once." Alex took a step back from Emma and held out her arm. "Dance with me, my lady?" Emma's eyes were sparkling as she gracefully placed her hand on the proffered arm. They slipped easily into each others arms. Scott couldn't help but feel like they looked right for each other. He shook his head and imitated Alex, to Jean's amusement, and they began to dance._

Scott stretched and yawned. Jean was smiling up at him sleepily and they were gleaming with happiness.

"We should do something like that soon." She murmured. He smiled at his wife.

"We should." He replied.

* * *

I smiled sleepily, the fabric of the blanket soft against my cheek. The warm body beneath it shifted slightly, and I felt my smile grow a little bigger just before I opened my eyes and turned my head to face her.

Emma smiled, just a small tiny little thing, but it was so happy that I was glad it was aimed towards me.

"Sorry if I woke you up." She murmured. She gestured to the paper that was on her stand. "I thought I would catch up on my marking." I nuzzled her thigh and squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"You didn't." I yawned, my jaws feeling like they were about to crack because they went so wide. "Though I admit, I still feel like I'm tired." I sat up.

"Did it hurt to have them come in?" Emma asked. I blinked for a few moments, not understanding what she meant. She gestured to her teeth.

It dawned on me. I felt my canines. "No, not really. They just replaced my other ones. It hurt more learning to close my mouth with them."

"How long have you had them? I didn't notice them before." I snickered and she gave me a confused look.

"It's not that funny, if I actually think about it." I gave her my crooked grin. "I've had them since I aged, but since I didn't really smile, they remained hidden." I reached to caress her cheek, wiping away the tear I had felt her shed. "Hey, don't worry about it. You make me smile now, and that's what really counts right?" she nodded. I hesitated for a second, just staring at her beautiful eyes, before I gently kissed her.

She accepted me without question, returning the emotion back fully. When I left her lips, she smiled at me. I lifted myself from the chair and stretched. "I should let you get to your marking." When I looked at her again, I knew my expression softened. "Can I get you anything? A donut? Coffee? A handsome masseuse?" she shook her head, though I felt her amusement.

"No, I'm fine. Go on. Henry will call you if I need anything. I know you want to lie down in the sun for a while." I grinned just a little bit.

"I'll be back in a little while." I told her. I kissed her sweetly one more time before leaving, smiling when I saw her pull her marking from the side of the bed. I took my time, just heading down the hall. In the elevator, Henry jumped in at the last moment. He nodded.

"How you feeling?" He said cautiously.

"Never better." I turned my gaze to him. "Why?" A commanding tone slipped into my voice without my notice, but I saw him immediately straighten.

"Well, with the extensive use of your powers after your coma, you should feel something abnormal." He murmured. He didn't meet my eyes.

"Honestly, I feel fine. I'm used to my powers now, but thank you for being concerned about me." The elevator doors swung open and I noticed the increase in light immediately. "It'll take awhile to get used to bright lights though." I said in passing to him as I slipped down the hallway.

I cracked my back as I moved silently through the hallways. It was that time of day that no one should be about, or at least, not many. Students had classes and the adults had better things to do.

I poked my head into Emma's classroom when I noticed the door was open and voices filtered out. Her class was there, arguing with someone I didn't recognise. Her eyes found mine quickly and she merely nodded slightly to acknowledge me. I smiled at her in return and removed myself before I scared anyone.

The sunshine felt wonderful on my pale skin when I passed through the doors into the bright sunshine. I saw a group of students playing basketball on the court with Logan hovering nearby. He turned in my direction and waved. I waved back, smiling a bit more broadly.

I found a sunny patch under a bunch of trees, hidden from the view of the school. Collapsing onto the ground, I stretched out along the grass, raising my nose appreciatively to the air. The fresh breeze was long missed and I revelled in the scent of it now. With a yawn, I closed my eyes briefly, allowing the sun naturally warm me.

I opened one eye at the snap of a fallen branch. I smiled and closed it again when I saw Jean. She came closer and sat down near my head.

"Hey." She said simply. Her voice sounded odd so I reopened my eyes and flipped over onto my stomach to regard her carefully.

"Hey yourself." I said with a plastered grin. "Don't you have a class now?"

"I let them out early. Most of them need to study for exams." She gestured towards the sunshine. "They're out here somewhere."

"Basically you couldn't keep their attention from the sunshine and rather than fight it, you let them go have fun." I replied.

"I'll stick to my reason." She seemed to ponder something for a moment. "Alex, are you planning on graduating this year still?"

That caught me by surprise. "I hadn't thought about graduating in a long time." I murmured. "I'd like to, if only so I am legally seen as an adult." I tilted my head to one side. "Why?"

"You're behind a month and exams are almost here. It'll take a lot of work." She said. I laughed and she gave me the oddest look. "The exams are hard."

"I won't have a problem. I could probably pass them now." Jean looked me over and gave me the same look Emma did when she amused.

"Want to try?"

"Now?" I replied, blinking in surprise.

"Why not? I can use last year's exam." She smiled. "Maybe then you'll know what you're in for." She said. I sluggishly got to my feet and stretched, yawning.

"Lead on." I murmured. I mentally reached for Emma, who, though she was focussing on marking a batch of essays, had left her shields open to me. I'm gonna go take a few tests. See you later? I knew a smile was on her lips when she replied.

I'd be disappointed if you didn't. She replied. I nodded and followed Jean through the trees back into the school. It didn't take her as long as I thought it might for her to get the tests. She sat me down and then started her timer. My gaze roamed the sheet in front of me, before I picked up my pencil and began to write.

* * *

Emma had just finished an essay when Jean came down to speak with Henry, who was supremely surprised by whatever she said. They both approached Emma and she gave them suspicious looks.

"Emma, we thought you might want to see this." Henry started. He pushed a wheelchair next to the bed..

"I can walk." Emma snapped. He shrugged and left it where it was. "What would I want to see?" They exchanged glances.

"I think it would be better for you to see this." Jean murmured. Emma carefully got to her feet and levelled them both a level look.

Jean guided them both through the halls and pulled them into an observation booth for the testing room of the examination room. Usually at this time of year, it was empty, but Alex was in there, scribbling across a paper.

"She told me that she was taking a test." Emma turned to look at Jean. "Why would I want to see this."

"She already finished two tests, the math exam and the geography from last June." Jean turned to look at Alex. "When she did the math so fast, I gave her the old geography exam and compared her answers to that on the answer key."

"Emma, her answers were all much more advanced then they should be." Henry explained. "When the same happened on the geography exam, we gave her one of the example exams we got from Harvard University. It doesn't look like she's having a problem."

"She's not getting the answers from me." Emma murmured. The bond was quiet.

"She's as intelligent as you or I." Jean murmured. "I just want to know how she got the knowledge._" _


	12. Chapter 12

I tilted my head and turned to look at one wall. Voices murmured on the other side. I leaned back in my chair and regarded what looked like a blank wall curiously.

"Jean, I'm done." I called to her. The voices stopped for a moment. "So, how'd I do?" I asked.

Jean came in the door a few moments later, followed by Henry and Emma. Jean handed the paper to Emma, who began to read it over. "You did very well." Jean said with a smile. "You'll ace the exams."

"I knew you worked ahead of your classmates, but I didn't think you worked that far ahead." Henry said. He patted me on the back. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a genius." I gave them both curious looks. Emma handed Jean my paper a few moments later.

"You'd probably have gotten a scholarship for that paper." Emma stated. "A big one, because it's a Harvard exam." I blinked with confusion.

"You did the other two perfectly, so I decided to give you a harder exam." Jean said as an explanation.

"Ah." I made as a reply before shrugging. "I told you, I wouldn't have a problem."

"When did you learn about the geography? You haven't taken it." Emma asked. I felt her eyes on me and I met her gaze.

"I know." I yawned. "Time passes differently in dreams." I said, returning my gaze to Jean. My stomach growled. "I'm going to grab something to eat." I said, yawning as I passed them. I pushed open the door, looking over my shoulder at Emma. "I'll bring you something later 'kay?" She didn't get a chance to answer before I was down the hall, heading for the kitchen.

* * *

Henry shook his head. "I didn't think that would happen. Any amount of time can pass in our dreams. Though our dreams usually last maybe twenty minutes, sometimes it feels like days have past. I thought since it was her powers that she would remain in sync with this reality."

"It would have taken years to gain that much though." Jean said. Her eyes widened at her own words.

"So she mentally matches her body." Emma commented. She didn't know what to say to that.

"Or she surpasses it." Henry said softly. His eyes focussed on Jean. "I think we should leave it alone unless she wants to talk about it." Jean simply nodded.

* * *

I danced to a song on the radio, mouthing to the words. I felt lighter than normal and my steps weren't nearly as bad as normal. It took far longer than normal to make a sandwich and clean up after myself, but I was in such a good mood, I didn't really care.

"Hi…" A timid voice said behind me. I turned a young teenager standing in the doorway, looking both shy and unsure. "Are…" the girl glanced around. "Are you a teacher here?" I smiled.

"Nah, don't worry I don't bite." I picked up one half of the sandwich and took a bite. "I haven't seen you around. You new?"

She hesitantly stepped into the room, taking a seat on the stool across from me. "I've been here a few weeks." She tilted her head to the side. "I don't remember seeing you around campus."

"I got stuck in one of my powers a while back. I didn't remember anything about this place." I took a swig of my water.

"What's your powers?"

"One of them is a telepathic ability to manipulate dreams. I got stuck in my dreams. The other one is a bit weird and caused a bunch of minor mutations." I rested my forearms on the island countertop. "What about you?"

"I… I… my power is horrible." The girl mumbled. I just smiled and tried to get her to continue. "I don't need to breathe." She eventually mumbled. I could hear the pain in her voice and reached to rest a hand on hers, squeezing it sympathetically. She squeezed it back before she withdrew her hand into a sleeve.

"It can do a lot of good. You'd be able to save people from fires or from drowning." Her eyes rested on the countertop and she paled. "How'd you find out?" I asked her softly, pushing what remained of my sandwich to the side.

"You won't tell?" I held up my hands.

"Not a soul." I replied.

"My brother… he got really mad and tried to drown me. He must've held me under for a long time. Except for the bruises where he held on, I wasn't hurt." She whispered. Her eyes finally rose and there was pleading in them. "Please, I love my brother, he didn't mean to. His temper gets the better of him. Don't hurt him."

"I won't. I promise I won't." I noticed everything was tinted red and I realised the mist had flooded the area. It was habit after so long. "Sorry." I mumbled. "It's been a while since I've had to restrain it and I'm out of practice."

"It's warm." The girl said when her hand reached out to touch it. "It's nice."

"I'm Alex." I held out a hand and she shook it.

"Laura." A tiny smile slipped onto the girl's lips. "What do you do here?"

"I'm actually a student here. I'm a lot younger than I look." I grinned, my canines pressing into my skin.

"Really?"

"Yup. Officially, I'm almost eighteen." That seemed to shock the girl.

"But you look old!" She blushed at the almost insult.

"A side effect of my combination of powers. I telepathically bonded with someone older than me and I aged. I'm graduating this year." A bell rang and she got up.

"I have class with Mrs. Summers. Will I see you around?" She asked. I nodded.

"Probably. If not, just come and find me. All the teachers know who I am." She smiled at me again and slipped out of the room.

"She seems to like you." I turned to see the weather witch, her white hair falling to her shoulders. I shrugged.

"She just needed someone to talk to." I replied.

"All of the teachers have offered and she wouldn't talk to anyone. She chose to talk to you." She sat down in front of me and I couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable.

"There are just some things you can't tell a talk to a teacher about." I said, biting the remains of my sandwich in half. "It's about comfort, not trust. I'm an obvious mutant and although Henry is too, he's a guy." She was quiet for a long while and I finished my sandwich and put the plate into the dishwasher. I was leaving the room when she spoke again.

"You don't like me do you?" She asked.

"No, I don't. Considering the first thing you said to me was calling me a demon, forgive me if I seem unduly harsh." I took a bottle of water and shoved it into my pocket as I walked out of the room.

* * *

"Emma." Emma smiled and turned to face the mischievous face of the dreamwalker. "Look what I have for you." She pulled a bunch of flowers from behind her. She obviously picked them herself, if the string holding them together was any indication.

Emma accepted them and placed them carefully in a nearby vase. Looking at Alex, it was easy to spot that she was still hiding something behind her.

"And just cause I know you're curious," Alex gave her a smile, indicating she was actually just guessing, "I wasn't sure what you like so I took a guess and got you some Japanese sushi." Emma couldn't help but allow her amusement to show.

"I could have dined with the rest of the staff." She murmured.

"Would the excuse that I don't work?" Alex replied. It was mostly just an offhand, witty remark, but it held just a touch of seriousness.

"Who are you avoiding?"

"The weather witch." Alex sighed.

"Ororo?" Emma tilted her head and placed a hand on her hip.

"I don't know her name. I don't like her and I expect she knows it." Alex muttered. "How's marking go?" It was a graceless topic change and would've been obvious to anyone, but Emma just gestured to the finished pile.

"Done."

"Any fails?" Alex replied, sitting down in one of the chairs of the room. Emma quirked an eyebrow. "Just curious."

"Only one." She was amused if the tone of her voice had any indication. Alex stretched, her arms high above her head. She let out a breath, almost a tired sigh. "Alex?" A questioning hum was her only response. "You should get some sleep. You're tired."

"I won't lie and say I'm not tired." Alex replied. She finished stretching and rose moving towards Emma. "Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure." She murmured. Emma, who'd been standing in front of the door, moved slightly, allowing Alex room to pass her.

"Go on, get to bed." Emma said. Moments later, she was wrapped in a tight embrace. "Alex?"

"You may be a telepath, Em, but you forgot our bond." Alex murmured, her head resting Emma's shoulder. "I have no plans on going anywhere." Ever. the telepathic voice forced Emma to look at the other mutant.

How can you still love me? Emma's telepathic voice lost all its normal distance and the naked self doubt was there. Alex's hand rose to caress one cheek before wrapping around the other woman's shoulder.

Because I always will. Emma felt Alex's telepathic presence enter her own and she looked inward. I love you. Her body began to shake. "I love you, Emma Grace Frost." A tear slipped from Emma's eye. It was kissed away. Don't cry.

I love you Alex. Her telepathic voice reflected her emotions and Alex simply hugged her closer. "I'm sorry." Her voice was soft.

Don't be. Alex's only other response was to pull the white queen towards the other woman's bed. She pulled the older woman to her. "Sleep, dawn will bring another day." Emma leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on Alex's lips.

"I'm not the one who's tired." Her voice was back to normal, even as her eyes softened when Alex yawned. "I'll make sure you're still here in the morning." She whispered. Alex smiled and closed her eyes. Her last thoughts before succumbing to sleep made Emma smile.

So beautiful.

* * *

I leaned back in the chair, idly twirling my pencil between my fingertips. The paper in front of me was covered in untidy doodles, some vague attempt at notes, and a few scribbles. For the most part, I stared into space, not really paying attention.

"Alex, the difference between mitosis and meiosis is what?" I stopped twirling the pencil and was quiet for a moment. "I ask you to pay more attention next-"

"Mitosis is the single cell reproduction used for smaller organisms. It is a natural form of cloning and involves only one cell. Meiosis is the sexual reproduction of larger species, and it uses two smaller cells, usually a sperm and an egg. It also has several more steps before the initial division." I began to twirl my pencil again, this time weaving it between my fingers in a more elaborate dance.

That caused the teacher to pause for a moment. "Thank you Alex." And the lesson went on once more, and there was the usual scratching of pencils. When the bell rang, I remained seated and let everyone rush around me in a scramble to get to class. Finally I stood up and left, other students filtering past me to take my place.

The halls emptied around me as I moved through it, still not entirely paying attention. I passed the golem standing in the hall with an absent greeting. "Hey Torrent."

"Mistress." The deep rumbling boom of the golem's voice reverberated through the air. His footsteps though, went unfelt as I headed for my telepathy class. I stopped outside the door when a familiar presence asked me to.

You're late Alex. Emma's mental voice was slightly reproaching, but my lips lifted anyway. Open the door quietly and sit on the right. And stop thinking about that paper you're writing, it's distracting. I obeyed the commands and turned the knob, pushing the door open quietly as I moved into the room. I took the empty seat on the right.

"Open your books to page two hundred and eighteen." Emma's voice was a sharp command, which all the class obeyed. "We'll continue our lesson's in projecting images." Her eyes roamed the class and softened when she met my gaze. "Reread the first page then pair up. One will receive the image while the other projects it without broadcasting it to anyone else." People immediately paired up, almost out of habit and I wasn't surprised to see Emma approaching me. She leaned on the desk next to me.

I'm waiting. My smirk was a bit broad, but none the less, I took an image of the demoness and shoved it at Emma. Done this before? She asked.

She loved playing telepathic games. The shrug I gave her was careless. I played along. I sent the image of the demoness smiling at me. It was odd to think of her as a different entity when she looked identical to me. Not anymore, thankfully, but it was still a bit eerie.

Emma lifted a hand to her lips and covered the small smile I knew was there. She sent me an image of what she thought occurred and I couldn't help but laugh as two images of me with thought bubbles above our heads.

See you later? Emma's inquiry puzzled me, until an image of the time appeared in my mind.

Of course love. I murmured. I'm heading for my room. Want to work on that distracting paper. I smirked as she dismissed the class and I wondered where the time had gone.

* * *

"Human?" Emma frowned at the questioning tone in that familiar voice and turned around, only to find Alex barely clad in anything and her face visibly relieved.

"Alex, what are you doing?" Emma said, pulling the woman into her office. She'd been leaving for dinner, one she intended on sharing with her lover.

"Something's wrong human." That word grated on Emma's patience.

"Of course something is wrong! You're not one to prance around in nothing but a thong and bra." Most of the school would think that was Emma's job.

"Listen to me human. Her powers are not the same anymore. They intermingle." Alex opened the door and poked her head out, before looking back at Emma. "Reality is merging. Soon the nightmares will come." The look that Alex sent her was pleading. "To separate abilities, the demon must be brought forth, to the fullest." Alex slipped back into the hall. "Seal her into the demon. Forever." The last word was whispered and even though Emma moved out into the hall, there was no sign of Alex. She stared for a moment, her blue eyes flicking around the corridor to double check for Alex. But she was gone.

* * *

The scratch of my pencil had been steady for over an hour. The essay I was writing for Jean was coming along nicely. If I tried, I could probably use it for both an English and biology essay. Setting the pencil down, I flexed my wrist, which was slowly growing cramped from holding it so tense and pressing so hard.

Music reached my ears, faintly at first, but more noticeably as time wore on. I turned, realising that the music was far too vivid to come from anywhere but here.

_"Who could love you?" _ That voice. _"Who could love a mutie freak like you? Barely even human." _It was his voice. I hadn't heard it in months, not since Emma had regained contact with me in the dream realm. _"Murderer."_ The last time, it came from in the closet. The spike on my left arm unsheathed as I moved forward to open the closet door. Opening it slowly, the door was drawn forward. There was no one inside. Just to make sure, I stepped into the closet doorway to look above at the upper shelving.

The mirror on the back of the door caught my eye, causing my head to turn. For a moment, I stared at his sneering face, almost in shock, but before it had fully settled in, my fist drove straight through the glass of the mirror and into the wood of the door.

I didn't realise that I was letting out a telepathic and vocal scream. It didn't take long for someone to begin pounding at my door, their fists hitting the wood hard enough to resemble the banging of a gavel. I tried to free my hand to face the Judgement.

"Alex? Come on Kid, open the damn door!" Logan's voice rang through the fog of the familiar Judgement voice.

_"You asked for mercy, once." _The voice was cold, glacial. _"Mercy is denied, Killer. You killed her." _I struggled to free my hand from the wooden trap, my struggles driving bits of wood into flesh and the area slowly staining red.

"Open the door." The command was given in a familiar voice, but for some reason, I couldn't place it. Open the door. the voice was gentle soothing my panic as I finally wrenched my arm free from the wood of the closet door. I moved to obey the love filled voice in my head, my hand twisting the lock I didn't remember using. The knob felt slippery under my grip as I turned it. Finally, it opened, though I'm not sure because Logan had pushed it or I'd pulled it. He immediately moved into the room, his claws extended as he sniffed around.

I ignored him as Emma came into my sight. The sight of him still had me rattled and I reached for her, and tucked my head into her shoulder before the shaking of my shoulders gave way to tears and hiccupy sobs.

"Alex?" Her voice was a soft command.

"I saw him. He was me." I said, my voice cracking. The memory of his eyes staring at me caused more tears to come. "He was here. I didn't mean to." I hadn't meant to, but even now, I was guilty of my crime. Even now, when the dead was comforting me quietly.

Part of me wondered at that particular contradiction, but most of me didn't care. The memory still haunted me, frightened me.

_"We are the same, you and I." _His voice was amused somehow. His laughter rang out, causing me to shrink into Emma _"I just don't look like a monster."_ Emma's arms tightened protectively and I tried my best to hide in them.

* * *

"Find something Logan?" Emma doubted it. She hadn't found anyone to match that voice telepathically. It surprised her to hear that disembodied voice and know it actually was disembodied.

"Nothing. Just the smell of brimstone." Logan's voice was low and comparable to a growl. The air was filled with his cigar smoke. "Not a trace of anything else." The trace of anger Emma could easily relate to. It took her hard that when Alex needed her, she could only hold Alex in the aftermath as she cried.

The damage to the room wasn't bad. The closet door had been replaced and the mangled knob had been as well. Both were the products of Alex's fear. Alex's forearm was lacerated to the elbow and it had taken Henry hours to remove all the wooden shards from the arm. Even Alex's ivory had been scraped by the wood.

Emma automatically reached to feel the warm ivory on her chest, hanging from a delicate chain. It's twin remained in her room, but this one never left her. Her fingertips felt the familiar circle as she thought. Logan didn't comment on the new habit.

"Keep a look out." Logan accepted the command gracefully with a nod. Emma's gaze went to her own bed, where Alex was sleeping. Every once in a while, grey eyes would open to gaze blankly at the ceiling before closing. A shiver would trace down Alex's spine and a small growl would escape. Whatever Alex was fighting, Emma could only hold her.

"What's happening to you?" Emma murmured as she sat at the edge of the bed, tucking a golden lock of hair behind one horn.

* * *

"Emma!" I bolted upright, still embedded into the dreamscape. Echoes of laughter rang in the room as I let tears dribble down my cheeks. "I'm so sorry." I nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand touched my shoulder. Two arms wrapped around me, pulling me to a warm body.

I'm here Alex, I'm here. Fingertips brushed my temples. "It was just a dream." Emma repeated to me.

"Just a dream." I said with her. It took me a long time to stop shaking. I couldn't help but remember what _he_ had called me. "_Murderer._"

* * *

"Mr Summers?" He turned as the young boy tugged at his sleeve. Fairy wings fluttered nervously. The boy, seeing that he had Scott's attention, pointed to the back storage room. "Something is in there." There was a pause. "Eating the wood." That drew a frown and Scott headed in that direction.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with it…" He entered storage and stopped in his tracks, his jaw going slack. There were six of the creatures, all no bigger that two feet tall, ranging from a bright red to a vivid orange. They all over the wood, their gnaw marks leaving trails of soot on the wood. Two of them turned to look at him, before returning to their squabble over a chunk of pine.

"What are they?" the boy had crept up behind Scott.

"I have no idea." Scott said honestly. All six heads of the creatures rose, their eyes focused on something past the doorway. Letting out a primal shriek, they ran, all of them vanishing as soon as they hit the wall. They left mists the colour of their skin, but even that soon disappeared.

"That… was weird."

"Mr Summers? I have the bucket of water for the demonstration." The older student put down the water. "What happened to the wood?" Scott shook his head once, trying to believe what his eyes said.

* * *

"_Alex._" I turned with a smile to meet her gaze. It faltered at the look of hostility. "_You left me alone for almost eight years. How could I love you?" _ I blinked a few times, not sure I was hearing properly. "_You disgust me. You're a murderer. You killed your peers. You killed your mother._"

"No! I didn't! I didn't mean to!" I retorted, trying my hardest to keep the anguish from my voice. "I didn't!"

_"You did." _Her smile was mocking. "_Killer._" She slapped me and my head flung to the side. I felt a trickle of blood from the corner of my lip. I turned confused eyes back to her. "_Why would someone like me want to be with a freak like you?_" I turned around and flung myself down the corridor, the warmth of red mist comforting me. I charged into the wall before I managed to grab the handle to the door, barrelling outside into the sunshine. Part of me was denying it, hearing the delusion of her voice calling to me, but I agreed with her words. Who could love a freak?

_"Lass? What's wrong? Lass!" _His voice used to be comforting, but today, it was an unwelcome intrusion_. "Lass!" _I shoved him out of my way. The snarl was out of my mouth before I'd even a thought why.


	13. Chapter 13

Emma blinked in confusion as the doors slammed behind Alex, who was running, from her seemingly. That left her confused.

"_Human." _ Emma turned to find Alex behind, wearing once again very little. "_He's taunting her. Save her. I trust you… and only you."_ Emma remembered hearing those words from identical lips.

"You're not Alex." Emma stated.

"_No. I am part of Alex's dreams."_ Her form flickered for a moment. "_Hurry. You're going to lose her."_ With those words, the demoness vanished. Emma could only stare at the spot she had been while the same thought looped through her head.

Save her from what?

* * *

"You're dead." I whispered. Her smile was exactly like I remembered it and the smell that wafted through the air was the soap she loved. Her gentle eyes were those of my mother's.

"Sometimes, nightmares are just that, nightmares." Her smile was soft. Sometimes it's just a dream.

"Mom?" I said. I couldn't believe it. She was dead. I had seen her die. I had felt her die. I'd felt the connection go slack. She was dead.

Except there was a ghost sensation in my mind, like one I used to feel when Mom had checked up on me during the school days. It was as though I felt her presence in my mind. It felt so weird.

"You've gotten so big Alex." She came and touched my horns, before she ruffled my hair affectionately. "And your powers have developed." She said, motioning to the mist that floated around me. She sat down on a bench I swore hadn't been there before. "How is Xavier doing? Do you like Jean?"

"It's been a while Mom. Xavier is odd…" I smiled at her as I sat down. "Jean's nice though. I like her."

"I'm glad. Find anyone special here?" Her smile was just a touch mischievous. Find a girlfriend?

"Mom!" I pretended to be outraged that she asked before I grinned at her. "I found my mate Mom. She's everything to me." She laughed and fluffed my hair again, making me feel as though I was seventeen again. "Quit it."

"I'm just so proud of my little girl. You're doing good Kid." I gave her a sharp look at the nickname. She never had called me that before. David had been the one to call me that.

"Is David here Mom?" Her eyes met someone's over my shoulder and I looked, to find that the sky had turned black almost instantly and that David stood there, his frame and presence still larger than life.

"Hello Kid. Ask your teach about them Muties? We're gonna kill them all, you 'n me." He declared, seemingly oblivious to the horns that graced my head. "Let's start with this one." Emma was suddenly in his grasp, one of the famous inhibitor collars around her neck. She was struggling against his grasp, but I knew how hard it was to escape it.

"Let's start a tally shall we?" His hand grabbed her skull. "One down."

"No!" I leapt at him and he moved out of the way easily, his smirk infuriating me. He petted my head affectionately, even as I continued to snarl at him.

"Thank you, Kid. One down." He laughed as he released Emma's body into my horrified grasp. She slid off my horns into my arms. A bloody froth flecked her lips and her eyes were glassy as she looked up at me.

"Alex…?" She didn't say, couldn't ask it. I kissed her forehead, trying to convey the regret and shame and pain I felt at hurting her. When I pulled back though, she was already dead.

"Emma." I whispered, pulling her body close. It was like my nightmares had come true somehow. But I knew I was still awake. The environment around me stayed the same. Emma's white leather was stained pink now. "I didn't mean to… I didn't mean to…" I whispered into her ear as I slowly put her down. I could hear in the distance footsteps approaching, the vague shouts searching. I put her body down, tears and pain seemingly etched into my soul.

"Time to go Kiddo. Gotta add to that list." He smiled and disappeared into the brush. Hating myself as I did so, I turned and ran.

I would survive this. I had to.


	14. Chapter 14

"Oh Jesus." Logan slide to a stop next to Ororo, his nostrils flaring. The smell of brimstone and blood filled the air and the sight of Emma, bloody and dead, greeted them. The corpse began to fade as the White Queen came into view. Her eyes swept over the scene, seemingly unaffected.

"Guess her nightmare was losing you, Emma." Ororo saw fit to comment. The cold glare she received didn't faze her.

"Nah." Logan countered, kneeling down to gently touch the corpse before it faded. "Alex killed her herself." He gestured to the two wounds before the corpse faded all together. "Bet'cha she killed you, by accident or on purpose."

"We have to find her." Emma said softly as she strode past them all, striding purposefully over the remaining mist. Logan nodded and followed her into the brush.

* * *

"Child." My eyes rose to meet someone who'd I'd seen before but never met. His ever present helmet was a giveaway. He was levitating a few feet off the ground. "You should be careful where you run. Humans won't accept you."

"Most people won't accept a killer." I muttered under my breath. I didn't see his eyes widen as a mirror image of him threw a car at me. He thought a moment then waved to a figure to the side. That figure shifted into Mystique's natural form.

"I am not most people." He said softly. Mystique hissed when the red mist turned to flames when she attempted to touch me. "We want to help you."

"That's what she said." I said, trying not to cry at the reminder of Emma.

"We mean it." Mystique said. The mist fluttered and faded a bit, tinting the air red. She gripped one arm and hauled me to my feet. I didn't see that her eyes watched as my mother was shocked into submission by the government behind me. I didn't see anything, including where she led me.

Magneto floated down to the ground and rested a hand on my shoulder. "You can make sure no one you love ever dies again." He said. "You can make a difference."

"I can." It wasn't an argument. I made a difference. I could easily kill telepaths. After all, I'd killed the only two who could find me. I just had to find them. His eyes, which I always had thought would be cold, were warm. I knew he was ruthless, but I could understand why.

"You'll have to show us what you can do." He saw a phantom road sign pass over just behind me, though once again I was ignorant of the vision.

"It's so cold." I murmured, rubbing my arms in the bright sunshine. "So cold." Her hand pressed the small of my back, leading me away from the forest or wherever I was, to wherever they lead me.

* * *

Emma. the telepathic call caused her to turn from the window, the wine glass gently placed on the table beside her. Gathering her wits to her, she turned to face the opening door.

"It's not healthy to brood like this Emma." Jean said the words, though Scott's gaze conveyed his concern.

"Spare me the medical diagnosis Jean." Emma snapped. Her blue eyes glittered.

"We'll find her." Jean said, drawing closer. Emma turned back to the bright scenery outside, where children played and a few lazed around in the sunshine.

"She needs you Emma." Scott said from closer to the door. His efforts to comfort her despite his sometimes emotional ineptitude spoke volumes about his concern for her. Something Emma pointedly ignored.

"Then why won't she call to me?" Emma said. Her voice held the insecurity that Jean had sensed, vaguely, and that Scott had no idea existed. "She could, but she won't."

"She thinks you're dead Emma. You know as well as I do the things the mind can delude us to. She probably thinks you're another broken connection to her." Jean stood a little bit behind the other telepath, before reaching to rest a hand on the aloof woman's shoulder. Emma shrugged off the offered comfort.

"It's not that hard to tell the difference between broken and whole." Emma retorted.

"And she's not a telepath, despite her ease being in other people's minds." Jean said. "Her powers aren't common and they aren't telepathy. Stop expecting her to be able to tell. Dreams aren't based in fact and in her dreams she accidentally killed you. To her, it is real."

"Jean." Scott rested a hand on the redhead's shoulder. Whatever communication they had was silent. "Emma, she's… out of control. Watch the news tonight." He pulled Jean out of the room with him, closing the door softly behind him. Emma lifted the wine glass, twirling the liquid around, staring out across the lawn of the mansion. She sighed as she put down the wine glass next to the bottle, which was only half full.

"Alex." She murmured to the empty room, automatically reaching for her lover telepathically. As had happened the other times, the mind she sought was just too far to reach.

* * *

I stared at my hand as the inferno around me burned everything around me, scorching cement and brick, turning wood to ash. I clenched it, watching the play of the muscles as they obeyed my will. I looked up as a familiar form leapt over the flames.

"Child's play." Mystique said with a smirk. "Pyro can control flames better than you can." My eyes turned to her and I snarled, my spikes unfurling themselves as I took a swipe at her. I missed, as always, but only because she inverted her knees.

"I don't answer to you, Shifter." I snapped, glaring at her. "You stick to espionage, I'll stick to mass destruction." Her eyes flicked to something behind me, and I looked over my shoulder, but the image in the flames was gone before I had even begun to turn.

"What do the images in your flames mean?" I glanced at one over on the side, one of a familiar face smiling softly at me. It was painful to see her face, still smiling at me like she used to.

"Memories I think." I muttered, turning away from her. She jerked when a small flame demon curled around her ankle before vanishing. "Nothing more. Go bug Magneto. He'll care for you company."

For once, she listened and left. I was left to grieve in my circle of flames, turning mostly unnatural now that the fuel was mostly gone.

The military arrived a little while later, rifles aimed at my head, at my chest, most intent on ending my life. They couldn't see very well beyond the flames.

"Surrender or die Mutant." One soldier called out. From the quiet laughter of his comrades, I knew that he was lying. Not that I wouldn't have known. The government was scum. Their version of mercy was torture, something I still felt in my nightmares.

"I may be a mutant, but I am not stupid." I burned the flames higher, my mist flooding the area, only to feed the inferno further. The forms of the soldiers became obscured even from my vision as the flames became deeper, redder.

"Protect Mistress." A deep rumble said. I couldn't see who said it, but it made me long for Torrent, his giant frame, and big heart. The distance sounds of thuds met my ears briefly, before the inferno gripped to the floor above me, soaring higher and higher. The destruction did nothing to soothe the ache in me caused by Emma's death.

"Alex." The face in the flames pulled outwards, until Emma was standing before me, exact down to her white leather. She moved forward until she was at my shoulder. The blow that snapped my head to the side was an expected dream. "You sicken me." I bowed my head as she disappeared back into the flames that created her. Although I didn't cry, I could barely breathe as my throat closed.

I tilted my head back and let out a scream, the flames responding to my anguish as they leapt to the buildings around me.

"Protect the Mistress!" I noted but didn't really hear the rally. I just wanted it to end. I wanted to join my Emma.

* * *

"The mutants that caused this decimation are still on the loose, running rampant somewhere in New York. Nearby tourists managed to capture this footage of the destruction." The screen changed to show a large golem pick up a soldier and throw him into the flames. The blows from its massive fists caused men to scream as they were thrown through the air. Small flames leapt at various soldier, clawing their chests, burning out their eyes. One of the small flames raced up to the camera. It was hard to miss the glowing eyes. It opened its mouth, revealing a row of flaming sharp teeth. It bounced off the lens of the camera and attacked another soldier. The screams made it apparent that it wasn't just clinging to him.

Jean turned off the TV, unable to watch the carnage. "What do we do? With all that backup, we can't possibly stop her."

"Isolate her from the other mutants, try to talk some sense into her! If we distract the others long enough-" Ororo began.

"No." Emma cut everyone off. "Those aren't other mutants." Her smile was bitter. "None of them will have a consciousness." Her eyes were still trained on the screen. "The golem's name is Torrent. He's part of Alex's dreams."

"Emma?"

"Both her dreams and nightmares are entering reality."

"Killing you was…?"

"One of her nightmares apparently." Emma snapped. "We have to stop this madness." She turned and swept out of the room.

And how do you propose we do that, Emma? Jean snapped as the team hurried to their feet.

"By any means necessary." She replied over her shoulder.

* * *

"She's not dead you know." The familiar mirror of my voice said aloud. The demoness was barely there, faintly shown in the mist. I had nearly forgotten she existed at all.

"I killed her with my own hands." I snarled, glaring at the face I hated seeing. My own.

"Come on Alex, you know it's not true. The bond isn't broken, you just have to see beyond your dreams…" I leapt to my feet, ribbons of red tracing my veins.

"It's gone! Alright?! It's gone and no matter how much I try, I can't feel anything but a broken link, a broken bond. It's my fault! I killed her!" The demoness had gone. "My fault. My fault." I muttered as the ribbons slowly faded. "I'm sorry." When the entirety of the red was gone, a heavy hand rested on my shoulder.

"Mistress?" The slow voice of Torrent filled the air.

"Sorry. I miss her."

"I miss her too. I miss her making you happy." It was a deep thing for Torrent to say. "Sorry she's gone." I rested my head against his knee and tried to wake up. Hoping that this was just a nightmare and when I woke, Emma would reassure me that it had all been a dream.

"Not likely." Her phantom figure was as I'd last seen her, her leather coated in blood. "I'm dead. Be an X-Man and save yourself." Her voice was sharp. "I won't save you anymore."

"I'm sorry Emma."

"Sorry isn't enough for your crimes."

* * *

"You survived an attack of the Demon?" The officer leaned forward. "Why?"

"I don't know. I remember the giant rock guy coming at me. Next thing I know, the Demon as standing in front of me, saying something. I couldn't hear her over the roar of the flames." The professor of mathematics said, his voice still containing the panic and confusion from earlier.

"Do you know the Demon? Know of any mutant that thought highly of you?" The investigator said in a gentler tone, glaring at the military officer.

"I teach math at the College of Manhattan. I don't recall teaching such an obvious mutant." The professor ran a hand through his unruly hair, just beginning to silver at the temples.

"Are you absolutely sure? You don't recognise her at all?"

This time, the professor hesitated. He searched his hands before looking up at the two men. "I know this sounds crazy, but a while ago, I had these dreams, every night, for about three weeks."

"What does a dream have to do with a mass murderer?" The military officer snarled. The investigator glared at him as the professor stammered an apology before continuing.

"In my dreams, I taught her. I must have taught years worth of knowledge into those dreams. If I didn't know better, I swear she was the one from those dreams!" The man rested his arms on his shoulders. "But she wasn't a murderer. She just wanted to understand the world there."

"Are you telling me that-" The investigator jammed an elbow into the officer's side, cutting him off.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you. I think we are done here." The officer frowned and simply left, flinging the door open. The detective, one of the finest the city had to offer, gave the man a half smile. "Thank you for your time. We'll call you if we have anymore questions. You're free to go." The detective shrugged at the gruff man who waited for him impatiently in the hall. "Don't forget, I've done more mutant crime cases than a lot of people. What may seem unconnected to you can mean a lot more than it should. Don't interrupt my questionings ever again." Both men swept down the hall.

"Your way is slow."

"My way will catch the killer." The detective retorted as they rounded a corner.


	15. Chapter 15

"I don't want to." I said, almost timidly. It drew a glare from Mystique, but Magneto gave me an intense look, which I couldn't help but refuse to meet. "I don't want to attack children."

"What troubles you? They are your age, about seventeen." I gave him a confused look.

"I'm twenty-eight." I commented. "And they are still children, even if they are anti-mutant." I remembered when I had woken among the scorched ruins.

_"Killer." _Judgement whispered from behind me. I shivered.

"They'd kill you if they could." Magneto said, his first response to everything. But I just shrugged. "They'd kill other teenagers, young mutants." He made me look at him, gripping my chin. The mist around me flared in warning. "They would gladly torture and kill Emma." That had me jerking out of his grip.

"Emma is dead." I spat back. "Nothing will bring her back." But if she lived, they'd want to have hurt her. "Where?" Maybe this would prove to Emma's ghost that it had truly been an accident.

Mystique smiled. "Follow me." She shifted forms as the two of us left the building, shifting into a slighter male form. "Get in." It didn't surprise me she knew how to fly a helicopter. I sat passively down, ignoring the little demon gnawing on my boot.

"_You make me sick."_ Emma's voice whispered. I turned my head to see her bloody ghost next to me. "You're just a killer." I didn't disagree with her.

She was right, after all.

* * *

Bright red flames where devouring the building below the Blackbird as Scott began to land, Ororo making the landing easier buffering the plane with the winds. Jean was already telepathically doing a head count of the students below.

"Logan, deal with Mystique. We'll deal with Magneto." Scott didn't need to say that they were leaving Demon to Emma. Alex was her lover, and they would let her do what she thought she should.

Only Jean could sense that barest flutter of dread.

"She'll listen Emma." Jean said before they parted ways, Jean towards Magneto and Emma towards where Alex was.

* * *

"Go away!" I flung another textbook at David, who smiled and laughed at me.

"You've always been useful kid. You're a born killer." I screamed and threw a pile of papers at him, the papers incinerating when they touched the wall of flames that ate at the building around me.

"Stop haunting me!" I shouted.

"You deserve this. You killed me." Emma stepped from the flames, untouched and unwounded. I trembled at the sight of her. "I let you into my life and you murdered me."

"I didn't mean to!" The fist to my jaw was expected, as was the diamond knee in my gut. I wheezed, on all fours on the ground. A glittering foot shoved me over.

"Of course you did. You impaled me didn't you?" Blood started to seep from the spots on her chest, where my horns had slid through her ribs. The stain grew bigger. "I never loved you, mongrel. You're just a fuck up." David laughed with Emma.

"I like you girl." I had to turn away as he kissed Emma, disgusted with the nightmare that was my life.

"Alex, don't listen to them, they just use you!" The demoness implored to me from the wall of flames, barely away from the wall. David appeared and shoved her back into the flames.

"Go away! I'll burn myself alive if you'll just leave me alone!" I screamed at him, the flames reaching the roof.

"You wouldn't have the guts." Emma snapped. I didn't know her anymore. I didn't even know the twisted figure that was my mother and David.

"Just leave me alone!" My veins glowed for a moment, red against my skin.

"_Murderer." _I screamed and I heard screams echoing my own as the ground shook and the fires spread.

* * *

"Alex!" Emma was trying to see Alex among the wreckage, part of the building already collapsing around her. "Alex!" She shouted again.

"Get away! I'm sorry! Why won't you leave me alone!" Alex's pained, panicked voice came from circle of fire. A chair was thrown at her and she moved, the chair landing harmlessly in the ashes. "I killed them! I killed my mother, David, Emma, everyone! Just let me pay my debt!" Emma was force into her diamond form as she pushed through the flames.

"Alex, stop this insanity, you're hurting people! You're killing innocent people!" Emma snapped.

"I was innocent too. And you killed me." Her form blocked her sight of Alex, moving to slap the demon mutant. "_Murderer."_ The image of herself said.

"Emma! Save _her." _ The demoness was dropped to the ground, her head in an unnatural position.

* * *

"Commander! The Demon is attacking again. Only the Rock Mutant is with her right now." The man stood.

"Eliminate her."

* * *

The flames burned hotter. I was going to burn this place to the ground, burn it until it was less than ash. I let out another anguished scream and the inferno leapt, the roof creaking.

"Alex, stop!" I lowered pained eyes to an Emma, her diamond form glittering in the flames. There was no blood on her, and there was determination in her eyes.

"Too late to stop her, Mutie! Kid here will burn the world. Starting with you. One down." A shove to my shoulders made me stumble.

"_One down." _It rang in my head and I turned to stare at David for a moment.

"One down?" I looked at Emma. "I killed you."

"No you didn't." There was a whisper in my mind, almost filling the hole that was gapping in my mind. The Emma in front of me had shifted, almost as though trying to reach me. It just wasn't real.

"You're dead!" I shouted.

"Oh I'll do it." David laughed, his smile warped as he flexed four arms. He gripped Emma before I had a chance to blink. She struggled to move in his grasp, barely moving an inch. "Ghosts are so useless and fickle." He turned. "Say goodbye." He raised his third hand with obvious delight, slowly placing it on Emma's head.

"Emma!" I couldn't bear to see another Emma die. Her blood already stained my hands. I couldn't let her die again.

David lost his grip when I slammed into him. He vanished as I slammed a veined spike where his head had been. I began yanking it free, cracking sounds above me. I looked up automatically, only to catch a face full of embers and a wooden beam.

* * *

Emma could feel the telepathic confusion of her team mates as some of their opponents simply vanished. The red flames continued but she noticed that the mutated figures that seemed to hover in them were gone.

"Alex?" She called, levering herself off the ground and moving towards where Alex and the demon from her dream where flung through the wall of flame. "Alex?" she called again, shifting to her diamond form to slip through the flames. Once she was through, she quickly shifted back to her normal form, searching for Alex's consciousness.

The still form under the beam froze Emma, her mind frantically searching for their connection. She found it, but Alex's mind was splintered, and fractured into nightmares and dreams.

"Shit!" She shifted into diamond form, the reassurance of their connection disappearing as she moved the beam off her lover. She brushed Alex's short hair away, noticing immediately the blood seeping gently from the gash in her head. "Alex, hold on okay? Hold on!" She gathered Alex into her arms, the flames causing her skin to glitter. She rose and ran, trying to avoid the fires. Alex woke as her footsteps led her to a doorway.

"Emma?" Alex whispered, her eyes glazed and unfocused. "I'm sorry Emma. I didn't mean to… to kill you. I'm sorry." She seemed to look closer as Emma kicked the door open. "I love yo…" Emma stumbled, jolting Alex enough that her eyes rolled back into her head.

"Hold on Alex, I'll get you out of here." She tried to run faster when her words didn't illicit any response.

* * *

"Emma." I heard whispers. I just wanted them to stop. I missed my lover. I just wanted Emma to be alive and well. Breathing. The warmth of her mind caressing my own. "Emma." I knew I was weeping, I could feel the tears trickling down my cheeks. But I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want the delusion of Emma to fade away. Not this one. I didn't want the warmth to go away. "Emma."

Alex. I wept into the fabric beneath my hand. I'm here Alex. She was gone and it was my fault. All my fault.

"Alex open your eyes. Look at me." It was automatic to obey. I stared up into blue eyes. Pale blue eyes that I thought gone.

"You're dead. Am I dead too?" I whispered. I wished it so. Only I'd go to hell.

"_Murderer._"

"We're not dead. I'm alive." And well, I might add, though you're escapades make it difficult not to worry. You've lost weight. It sounded so much like Emma. That's because it is Emma. A retort came in my head. A familiar hand gripped my own and placed it against her heart. I felt the soft beat of her heart, felt the heat of her skin, cooler than my own. Unlike the delusions, which were always too hot or unable to be touched at all.

"Emma?" I whispered, lifting my hand to caress her cheek. She turned her head into my palm, her eyes glued on my own. A footstep caused me to jerk and turn, but it was Dr McCoy, entering the outer room of the med lab. I blinked. There was sound proofing between the two rooms.

Emma caressed my arm, tracing the red veins that I saw there. There were spirals on my nails and when I checked my spike, red veins traced through the ivory. Now that I thought about it, I could hear Emma's heartbeat.

"Emma?" She reached and caresses my forehead, tucking strands behind my horns.

"You're in your demon form." Emma caressed her jaw. "It shuts off your dreamwalker abilities, just as my telepathy goes dormant when I am in my diamond form." She sat down on the edge of the bed. "You won't be able to shift back."

"What?" I said dropping my hand to grips hers.

"Henry agrees. We think that your dreamwalker abilities where bleeding into your primary ability. Thus your nightmares becoming reality." She kissed my forehead. "I'm sorry, I didn't have a choice."

"No, don't be." I leaned upwards, grimacing a bit. "I got to see you again. That's better than any delusion." I gasped and put my head back down, a bit dizzy. "I spend far too much in here."

She smiled. "I know." She sent a wave of love and affection along our bond, which caused me to smile as well.

"I love you too."

_The End?_

This story has too much stuff shoved into it. You can see my later efforts to fix it, and a sequel may or may not happen that will help with those patches. But don't count on a sequel anytime soon, if ever.


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